


The Manhunt of the Century

by TheHarbingers



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Dream Team - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: 1.16 The Nether Update (Minecraft), Magic, Minecraft, Sleepy Boys Inc. - Freeform, Tommy Misses Tubbo, dream fucks up big time, dream team, dream's kinda not good person? maybe he is? idk, semi-realistic AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:47:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27981039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheHarbingers/pseuds/TheHarbingers
Summary: A ring and two discs. The hunted and 4 hunters. Potions and songs.Once a thief; Always a thief.Dream has always wanted to be a royal guard- Up until he was abandoned by his family. What'll happen when he comes across the two most wanted men in the nation?
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 39





	1. Chapter 1

When Dream was just a little boy, he fantasized about being many different things. From a king, to an adventurer, and finally: To a royal officer.

He would help keep the peace in his beloved kingdom by upholding the laws. He dreamed about arresting thieves and taking them to the king so they would be punished for their crimes.

That was, until his parents had passed. His aunt took in his sisters, but not him. Dream was thrown into the street like a rat, his aunt leaving him with nothing.

For 2 years, he would beg for food and coins on the streets. Though, he never would get enough earnings for a full meal.

Dream didn't know what to do. He had to beg to survive, but he wasn't getting enough from begging to live on.

That was, until he heard the gossip of two passing women.

"Have you heard?" One asked the other.

The other shook her head, looking confused, "Heard of what?"

The first lady grinned, "There is a thief."

"How is that something to smile about?"

"A thief who has stolen from the king."

The second lady looked appalled, "What has the thief stolen?"

"The late Queen's ring."

"How?! When?!"

"It happened in the dead of the night, my son, who guards the palace, told me."

"Why did no one stop the robber?"

"They couldn't."

"Why?"

"The thief charmed every guard in the palace with a simple song. My son told me that he had never heard a voice so clear, so sweet, and so beautiful."

"The thief is a musician? How did they not do anything over some simple piece of music?"

"It was magic." The first lady whispered, making the second gasp.

"You are much too young to have lost your mind already!"

Dream's curiosity had gotten the best of him as he had followed to ensure he heard the rest of the tale.

"I haven't lost my mind. My son had been told this by the king."

"Our highness has gone mad then."

"That could have been the case, if the thief hadn't drank a potion that made him as quick as a hare."

"Well, what happened to the thief?" Dream butt in, startling the two old ladies when they whipped around.

The 1st old lady smiled and looked him in the eye.

"He is on the run."

Dream's eyes widened, "Are they after him?"

"Yes, they have sent two of the best guards after him. A guard who carries the name of Technoblade, and a wise guard called Phil Za."

"What is the thief's name?" Dream urged.

"Wilbur Soot. He was a simple man who sang at bars and danced with ladies and gentlemen alike. Unfortunately, he went mad enough to steal the Queen's ring."

"Do you think they'll catch him?" The second lady asked the first.

The first straightened her posture and simply shook her head. 

"This is a simple game of Manhunt. They must reach him before he crosses the sea to the mainland."

"And if he does reach it?" Dream asked impatiently.

The old lady looked solemn. "It will be off with the hunters' heads."

Dream stood there for a moment, thinking as hard as he could. Why would someone want to serve a king who would be off with them at a flick of the wrist?

Why would someone even steal in the first place, knowing they would endanger the guards tasked to find them?

Why would someone steal if the consequence would be the death punishment?

The old ladies started walking off, and in his focused state, he didn't even notice. All 24 year old Dream could think was how much of a genius this thief was.

How else to put yourself out there as an entertainer than to commit a huge crime?

Dream grinned to himself; Such a crude smile that would be recognized by the people who first witnessed it for decades on end. The pure laughter of a crazed man would haunt them in their nightmares for years to come.

Suddenly, Dream knew the solution to all of his problems.

Thievery.

The first thing Dream ever stole was a mask. A plain white mask, with a simple smile on it. The mask merchant had yelled after him, but didn't chase him. So, Dream had gotten away with it.

But, the merchant had grumbled to himself, "That boy is going to regret that."

~~  
A year later, a man wearing yellow with a guitar in his hands strode through the village at the brink of dawn.

The shopkeepers had rushed to call for help, while villagers stood huddled up to buildings.

As the man walked the main road, he gave a smile and started to sing.

Dream's eyes started to droop as his mind became dizzy. He had stolen from a wealthier gentleman the day before and was about to enter the pawn shop when he heard the beautiful noise.

"Wasting your time." The man's voice rang clear throughout the silent market square.

"You're wasting mine." He strummed his instrument with elegant movements.

"I hate to see you leaving;  
A fate worse than dying." 

Dream realized through his foggy head that this was the infamous Wilbur Soot.

The man began to walk as he sang, "Shout at the walls, 'cause the walls don't fucking love you."

The musician locked eyes with Dream, and gave him a grin as he repeated the verse. "Shout at the walls."

Something took over the masked thief as he sang back, "Cause the walls don't fucking love you."

Dream covered his own mouth as Wilbur laughed a little to himself, but carried on with the song.

Eventually, the music stopped. Dream could think coherently again, but he saw a panicked Wilbur Soot bolting out of the market square.

The disorientated villagers were blinking, touching their faces, and looking at their hands. 

Even the fruit shopkeeper did not notice the missing of several pieces of assorted fruit.

Dream made the inference that Wilbur had stolen the fruit. Once a thief, always a thief.

But he thought to himself how rewarded he would be, if he could manage to capture Wilbur. The most wanted man in the nation would surely bring fame and rewards, right?

So that's why Dream started to walk in the direction of where Mr. Soot had gone in. 

Now, Dream had never left the town.

It was dangerous to go into the forest, especially if you were alone and it turned into Night before you could find your way back.

But Dream wasn't thinking about that. Instead, he followed a yellow sweater that stuck out like a sore thumb in the lush green woods.

Eventually, he had heard two voices.

"Is this all you got, Wil?" A teenager's voice asked.

"Yes, you better be grateful for it. I almost busted my arse running back here." Dream could practically hear the eyeroll in Wilbur's voice.

Dream stepped closer and peaked through a bush to see who the younger voice was.

"Eat up, Tommy. Don't let the fruit rot." 

Tommy rolled his eyes and took a bite out of an apple. "Tubbo would've asked if fruits could decay that quickly."

The mood turned somber, but Wilbur offered a gentle smile to Tommy.

"He would have. But you know what he also would have said?"

Tommy raised his eyebrow in question, "What?"

"Thank you, Wilbur, for bringing this fruit home in such a trying time!" Wilbur clasped his hands together, speaking with a weird voice. Dream assumed this would be an impression of this Tubbo character.

Tommy burst out laughing; Glee filled laughter that you would only experience with a true friend.

Wilbur sat down across from Tommy, eyes crinkling slightly as he tried not to catch the contagious laughter.

“We’ll go back for him.” Wilbur promised in a determined voice, though Dream could tell there was a hint of uncertainty in his tone.

“He’s probably waiting for us.” Tommy frowned a little, “I hate how he’s alone.”

‘“He won’t be alone for long, keep your chin up.” Wilbur grinned at Tommy, trying to cheer the teenager up.

“You’re right, Wil.” Tommy nodded, giving a smile back.

Dream shifted slightly, digging in his pockets for anything that could intimidate them into surrendering to him.

He crouched down, to focus more on getting out any item. But, when he did, his foot slipped, and he fell.

Without getting up, Dream could already tell that they heard him.

“Who’s there?” Looking up, Dream could see through the bush Wilbur stood up and tense.

Crawling out, Dream sheepishly got to his feet in front of the wanted criminals.

“Hi.”

Wilbur quickly stood in front of Tommy defensively, “Who are you? Did you follow me?”

“I.. My name is Dream.” 

“Well, I would say it’s nice to meet you in any other situation.”

Dream cracked a smile at that, but adjusted his mask. 

Tommy stood up from behind Wilbur, and tried to seem intimidating to Dream. “Did you follow Wilbur? Why are you here?”

“I guess honesty is the best policy.” Dream coughed into his hand awkwardly, “I originally came to intimidate Soot into coming to the police with me. But.. I can’t.”

“Is it because it’s two versus one?” Tommy asked, moving slightly in front of Wilbur to get a better look at the masked man.

“No. It’s because I’m a hypocrite.”

“..oh. Wait, how?” Tommy cocked his head to the side, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

“I’m a thief just like you two. Or, at least, Wilbur here.”

“How have you heard of my name?” Wilbur furrowed his brow.

“The whole nation knows it.”

“Why are you here? To turn me in and get your prize money?”

Dream coughed and straightened up, “I just would like to request you teach me how to make potions.”

Wilbur raised an eyebrow, “Potions? Who told you I made potions or even knew how to?”

“I heard from the gossip of two passing women that you broke into the king’s castle, used a speed potion, and left.”

“God damnit. Do you know how many people know this information?”

Dream shook his head, “I think it might be classified palace information, because the woman who told was the mother of a royal guard member.”

Wilbur pinched the bridge of his nose, looking deep in thought as he sighed.  
“I should’ve never dropped that potion.”

Tommy frowned, “What do you mean you dropped it?”

Wilbur turned to look at Tommy, “Look, I had to get out quickly! That song is short, I don’t know how to write 40 minute long songs!”

“Well, it’s like leaving the sword at a murder scene!” Tommy sounded flabbergasted. 

Wilbur sighed, “I know, but at least I escaped there with my life!”

“The king wouldn’t try you for a crime his so-"

“You don’t know the king.” Wilbur’s expression went dark.

Dream tried to see if Tommy knew what Wilbur was talking about, but the teenager looked just as confused as himself. For very different reasons, though.

Wilbur just shook his head slightly. “Dream,” The man turned to him, “If you want to learn alchemy, you have to be a quick learner.”

“I will.” Dream said in the most confident voice he could muster.

“Do you have anywhere to go?” Tommy piped up with a question.

“No.. I live on the street.”

“Perfect. Uhm, well, not really for you. Uh, you know what I meant.” 

For once, Dream allowed himself to laugh at his situation.


	2. Chapter 2

Well, Wilbur set to work setting the brewing stand up quite quickly.

“Now, Dream, you need blaze powder to even power this thing, or else it won’t work.”

Dream crouched down, nodding absentmindedly as he made mental notes.  
“Wait, what’s blaze powder? Where do you get it?”

“From the Nether.”

“What’s the Nether?”

“You’ve never heard of it?” Wilbur cocked his head to the side in curiosity.

“No.. I haven’t. What is it?”

“Oblivion. You build a portal made out of obsidian and you light it. When you go through, it’s oblivion. Literal oblivion. Death everywhere.”

“How did you make it there?”

Wilbur smiled, “I didn’t. I had a buddy who did. But for you,” Wilbur’s cheery face disappeared, “you’ll have to go through on your own if you don’t have anyone.”

Dream’s face paled a little, but he was lucky for his mask that covered it. He gulped a little and regained his stoic expression that no one could see.

“You need 3 bottles of water, so it’d be best to make a cauldron or go to a lake.” Wilbur held up three filled bottles.

“3 bottles of water; got it.”

Tommy sat in the background, watching intently as he was learning along with Dream. 

“Then, you need netherwart. Netherwart is a fungus you find in the nether; so again, scary place.” Wilbur held up a weird group of small red fungi.

“Is that edible?”  
Wilbur paused, “..I’ve never really thought of that. Damn, you got me wanting to eat some hell mushrooms.”

“It probably isn’t, I asked a stupid question.”

“One way to find out-” Tommy took some from Wilbur’s hand and held it up to his own mouth.

“Tommy, no!” Wilbur snatched the netherwart back.

Tommy pouted, “I wasn’t actually going to eat them..”

“How do I know that? You’re stupid 100% of the time!”

“Not 100% of the time! Sheesh, you make me sound like an idiot!”

“It’s because you are an idiot!”

"I am not!" Tommy was ready to argue for a while with Wilbur, but Dream coughed.

"Anyway, Wilbur, as you were saying?" Dream gestured for Wilbur to carry on.

"Yes, well, now is the part where you have to pay really close attention."

"I already was, but okay."

"To make certain potions, you need certain ingredients."

"What kind of potions are there?"

"Speed, slowness, invisibility, strength, weakness.."

"Why would you ever want to drink a slowness potion?" Tommy made a face.

"Ah, you reminded me, I have to teach him about splash potions." Wilbur turned back to Dream.

"Splash potions are..?" Dream did a hand motion for Wilbur to carry on. Again.

"Well, you splash them on the ground."

"So you break the glass?"

"Yeah, that's kind of the whole point." Wilbur shrugged.

"Which potions are you going to teach me, by the way?"

"Important ones first, but if you'll travel with Tommy and I, you'll have more opportunity to learn if we have to go."

Dream paused. A life on the run, with any moment that could be your last.

He thought himself crazy for actually considering it.

"I'll.. Think about it." Dream rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"That's fine. It's sort of a lot to ask, leaving behind the world you know." Wilbur sympathized.

"It's really cool though! You should've seen when I one versus one Technoblade!" Tommy boasted.

Wilbur sighed and pinched Tommy's ear, "For the last time, Technoblade was the one to punt you across an entire fucking field."

Tommy turned beet red when caught at his lie, "Well, I never said I bloody won.."

Dream chuckled a little while Wilbur rolled his eyes.

“Anyway, Dream,” Wilbur turned to face the masked man, “We need to get some rest. I suggest you go back to your village; if we do get ambushed during the night, I don’t want you getting dragged down with us if you aren’t sure about joining us yet.”

“..Okay.” Dream nodded, “Goodnight Wilbur.”

As he turned to leave, he heard Tommy grumble to Wilbur quietly, “Why don’t I get a goodnight too?”

Dream could tell that Wilbur was smiling a little as he (presumably) ruffled Tommy’s hair; Judging by Tommy’s loud complaints.

Well, the masked man walked away from the duo into the little alley he called his home. Reaching into a cardboard box, he jerked away when he felt legs crawling on his hand. Smacking without hesitation, Dream now held a dead spider.   
“Ew.” Was all he said before he flung it deeper into the alley.

He then reached back into the box and took out a quilted blanket. Wrapping the blanket over himself and using the cardboard box as a pillow, Dream got comfortable enough to sleep.

Drifting off to sleep, Dream held his mask to his face.

His dreams led him to a place in the forest; similar to where he had talked with Wilbur and Tommy, but this time there was a wet campfire.

Walking a little further to what appeared to be a swamp, he jolted when he heard the cry of a man, "Get away from me!"

He was shoved out of the way when a very panicked person wearing a bright orange hoodie ran towards the swamp.

Dream was about to call to them before he was shoved again by another man in a green camouflage jacket, wielding an iron axe.

The first man, the hunted, was jumping over little bits of water, when he looked behind him and ended up tripping over some vines.

The hunter was struggling to get around vines, but when the hunted fell into a tiny pool of water, he jumped in with him.

The hunted desperately tried to pull himself out, but the hunter pulled him back in with a sick grin.

With one devastating hit with the axe, the hunted laid motionless next to the hunter.

Cheering in celebration, the hunter turned around to face Dream. Raising his axe, he ran at full speed towards the taller man.

That's when Dream woke up, hyperventilating.

Running his hand through his hair, he took a deep breath to calm down.  
"What.. A strange nightmare."

Dream looked up and saw it was daybreak, so he decided to pay Wilbur and Tommy a visit.

Putting the quilt back into the cardboard box, he declared himself ready for today.

Dream, with a confident bounce to his step, set off into the woods.

Carefully moving low hanging branches out of the way and stepping through bushes, Dream eventually came across the little camp.

Wilbur was packing up while Tommy was rummaging through a sack.

"Wil, have you seen my discs?"

"They're in the front of the ba- oh hello, Dream."

Dream nodded and waved to the two.

"Have you made up your mind? We're leaving today." Tommy asked, not looking up from where he just pulled out two music discs.

"I have come to a decision."

Wilbur and Tommy both stared at him, eagerly awaiting his decision choice.

"I've.. Chosen to stay." It would forever pang Dream of how Wilbur's posture stiffened and how all ounces of joy disappeared from Tommy's face.

Tommy frowned and reached towards him, then retracted his hand and looked away.

Wilbur, however, got to his feet and walked to Dream. Placing a gentle hand on his shoulder and looking him in the eye, he offered a kind smile.

"Well, it was nice to meet you then. I'll never forget you, even if we've only known each other for a day."

Dream smiled from behind his mask and he tried wiping at his own face, but the mask prevented that.

Tommy was being silent, so Dream spoke up.

"Tommy, do you have a favorite food?"

"What?" Tommy looked up in confusion.

"I asked, do you have a favorite food?"

"No, I don't really, why?"

"Well I'm going into the market place. I'm going to buy you two food and supplies."

Wilbur smiled, while Tommy grinned, "Can I come?" The teenager asked excitedly.

Dream looked at Wilbur for permission, and he nodded slightly. Dream looked back to Tommy and gave a nod.

Tommy was over the moon to go shopping. Usually, to not put Tommy in danger or associate him with Wilbur, Tommy would go around towns and never inside them.

"Well, let's go. The baker always has the freshest bread at dawn." Dream gestured for Tommy to follow him.

Tommy hesitated, looking back at Wilbur one more time before going with the taller man.

Dream walked into town with Tommy in tow. The teenager was gawking at the plain village, as if it was a holy land or something. Dream had to roll his eyes a little.

“Come on, there’s the baker over there.” Dream pointed and Tommy looked over, eyes lighting up.

“I haven’t been to the baker in so long!”

“How long have you been travelling?” Dream furrowed his eyebrows.

“I don’t know at this point, but Wil doesn’t allow me to go inside towns. He thinks its too dangerous if he’s ever caught.”

“Wilbur must care a lot for you.”

Tommy crossed his arms, “If he did care for me, he’d know that I’m not a child and I don’t need to be treated like one.”

“Well, you are a teenage-”

“Yes, I’m a teenager, not a kid!”

Dream raised his hands up in defense.

Well, the duo went into the bakery, Dream holding the door open for Tommy.  
Tommy looked around, “It smells so good in her- is that a fucking rat?” He pointed, and Dream burst out laughing.

A rat had skittered across the floor and to outside where Dream held the door open a little wider to let it through.

“Just let your twin brother outside, we should give him a piece of bread when we head out.” Dream commented with a grin.

"Oh shut up." Tommy grumbled, shooing at Dream. "You look more like a rat than I do."

"You have a rat face."

"Yeah?! Well you do too- no, actually, you don't.." Tommy faltered when looking Dream straight in the mask.

Dream laughed, then noticed they were at the front of the line.

"Two loaves of bread, please." Dream slid a silver coin on the counter.

The baker nodded, took the coin, and went to the back to grab the loaves requested.

Dream hummed quietly to himself.

"So.. Is the bread good?" Tommy tried making small talk.

"It's bread." Dream looked over, "How good can it get?"

"True.. My friend, Tubbo, used to make the best bread though."

"Really?" Dream cocked an eyebrow.

"Yes, I really miss him.."

"..oh. I'm sorry for your los-"

"Jesus, man, he's not dead!" Tommy flung back in surprise.

“You made it sound like he died, it’s not my fault for assuming the worst!” Dream held his hands up in defense.

“Well, he’s not dead. We left him in the forest.. Listen, man, when we leave, can you go get Tubbo and bring him to the harbor. Please.”

“I.. I don’t have a description of him or anything-”

“Please, man. I haven’t seen him in a while; I need to know if he’s okay.”

“..Okay. I will.” Dream promised, putting a hand on Tommy’s shoulder.

Tommy beamed, “Thank you so much! The sooner you get him to the port the better!”

“I’ll start my search as soon as possible.”

Tommy opened his mouth to probably thank him again, but Dream just held up a hand, “First, I need a description though.”

“Oh, yeah, that’d make things easier. Well, he’s shorter than me.”

“Mhm. How old? Or at least old-looking?”

“16, like me, except he could pass for a 12 or 14 year old."

“Wow, so he’s basically the entire spectrum of teenager?”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

Just then, the baker came out with 2 loaves of bread. Dream thanked him before taking the loaves into his arms and walking out the door with Tommy in tow.

“He has brown hair.”

“Really narrows it down.” Dream replied sarcastically.

“Well, he likes fire, some would call him an arsonist because he is. So you’ll know him when you see him.”

Dream turned his head to Tommy quizzically.

Tommy only laughed.

~~

They started to make their way back after spending an hour looking at sparkly and shiny things neither could afford.  
Tommy was telling Dream of all the good stories he had about Tubbo, when he froze in his steps.

Confused, Dream stopped too, but without questioning, he could hear a crowd’s chattering nearby.

“Has anyone seen a man with a guitar?” A British-accented man’s voice hushed the crowd. “He is British, wears a yellow sweater and red beanie..”

Several voices started speaking at once, telling of how that exact man paralyzed the market square with his voice, and ran with fruit into the woods last night.

Dream saw Tommy paralyzed and staring at a man scanning around the crowd.  
The man in question wore a boar’s mask with his mouth uncovered. His lips were pressed into a fine line as he scanned the faces of everyone he could see. 

Time slowed down as the man shouted “There!” when he looked to Tommy.

The boar man pushed through the crowd, unsheathing a sword.

“Run!” Dream grabbed Tommy and started to yank him along.

“We only want to talk!” The English man shouted after the pair. “We need to find a man named Wilbur!”

The man wearing the boar mask was gaining on them quickly, and Dream looked behind him just as Tommy was yanked by the collar.

“Tell us where Wilbur is.” 

Tommy gulped, “I-I don’t know, Technoblade! We split up- He didn’t want me anymore after you kicked my arse at that field-”

Technoblade rolled his eyes, “You’re lying.”

Before Dream could do anything, a sword was at his neck. “Tell us, who are you and why are you with him?” The Brit asked, presumably Phil Za, the second hunter.

“We don’t want to hurt either of you.” Technoblade held Tommy by the scruff like a small puppy. 

“Wilbur is long gone.” Dream finally spoke.

“..So you do know him.” Phil confirmed.

“He gave me the ring.” Dream lied, but he was lucky his mask concealed his facial expression.

The sword around his neck pressed a little closer, not yet drawing blood. Tommy was wide eyed and his expression read, “What the hell are you doing?”

Technoblade was about to say something before Dream spoke, “I’ll make you a deal.”

“What is it?” Phil cocked his head to the side a little.

“I’ll give you the ring if-”

“Hand it over.” Techno demanded with his monotone.

“If you let Tommy go.” Dream finished, glaring behind his mask.

Technoblade had an unreadable expression, but Dream could conclude he was suspicious.

“..Techno, let the kid go.” Phil spoke up after a moment.

The boar man released Tommy who quickly backed away, but didn’t run off.

“Tommy, listen, go. Run.”

Tommy was about to protest, but he closed his mouth, turned, and ran off.

“Now. The ring.” Phil released Dream, who rubbed his neck and made sure he wasn’t bleeding.

Dream smirked from under his mask, “You’ll have to catch me first!”

Then, as quickly as he could, he ran in the opposite direction of Tommy, praying to anyone who would listen that Wilbur and Tommy would escape safely.

He heard the gaining footsteps on him, but Dream quickly turned into an alleyway. Knowing the town better than these hunters, he threw them off a little. 

The masked man looked behind him and saw Techno had started running down the alley with him.

Cursing slightly, Dream almost ran into a wall. Looking around frantically, he then used a cardboard box to hoist himself onto a roof of the shorter building to his right.

He felt hands around his ankles, about to pull him down, when he kicked his foot right into the face of Phil, judging by the accented curses that followed.

Clambering onto the roof, Dream’s chest heaved wildly as he scanned the area for somewhere to go. Spotting a tree, he leaped onto it, grabbing a branch and pulling himself up into it. 

He looked behind him and saw Phil about to do the same, when he jumped off of the branch and jumped to the other one. The branch swung with the lack of weight, and Phil fell to the ground with an oof.

Techno, though, watched the branch for a second before jumping and grabbing onto it firmly. Dream was sure that if he could see Techno’s face, it’d be scrunched up and pissed off.

Dream looked ahead of him for a way out of this one. Unfortunately, there was no way out. That was, until, he looked up.

There was still more tree to climb.

So Dream, right when he felt a pull on his shoulder, jumped and latched onto the branch above. Sweat formed little beads on his brow, but he didn’t look behind him or stop climbing.

Dream reached the top fairly quickly. Or, at least, quicker than Techno did. The other man was still trying to calm the branches down so he could safely jump on them.

He was about to grin and declare victory before he realized- What happens when Techno gets up here? 

He had no place to go. There were no more trees around- Well, trees that were as tall as this one. And Dream wasn’t Tarzan.

Looking down, he found a little pile of hay bales that he could fall to if he pushed himself away from the tree.

So, when Techno reached the branch below him, Dream looked at him and saluated.

Then, he jumped.

He screwed his eyes shut as tightly as they could, because if he did miss, he didn’t want Techno’s face- Or well, masked face, to be the last thing he saw. He’d rather see his eyelids.

So when Dream’s back hit the soft hay, he let out an audible sigh of relief.

He noticed Phil desperately climbing up the remainder of the tree and was about to jump, when Dream pulled the hay out of the spot, and Techno caught Phil’s arm before he could do it.

Dream grinned to himself, before turning and running. But oh, he could feel Techno’s eyes burning through his back as he glared from under that pig mask.

Phil was catching his breath, “We have to go after him.” 

“No, we don’t.” Techno stated, not even sparing a glance to Phil.

“Why’s that?”

“He doesn’t have it.”

“But- He said he did.”

“He only has back pockets.” Techno pointed out.

“And?”

“And if he had the ring, it would have been crushed or he’d have a tear in his back pocket.”

Phil was dumbfounded, “Leave it to you to put together the most obscure details.”

Techno only gave a grin.

~

Heaving for breath, Dream assumed he was far enough. He now was a criminal against the crown; So he couldn’t return to his own town..

He started to walk to the nearest town he could see. Dream had lost most of his coins from the chase- But he was lucky he had enough to rest in an inn for tonight.

Sighing and taking off his mask, Dream frowned. He’d better throw this old thing out; Lest he be caught with it, and then he wouldn’t have a head.

But, when Dream was about to throw the white mask into the woods, his muscles stiffened and he couldn’t do it.

Something compelled him to keep the mask with him, and without even questioning it, he stuffed it into his collar carefully.

~~

It was nearly dark when he reached the town, but Dream was ready for a long’s night rest.

He looked around, looking up at signs and watching people come out of buildings. Finally, his eyes set on a small inn, close to the presumed marketplace of this town.

Rummaging through his pockets, Dream pulled out his money to count it. 7 copper coins; Could be enough for one stay if he offered to do some work for them.

Dream walked in, and when the bell rang, he jumped a little. Bells weren't used in his village; They signaled for everyone to go inside during a raid. Nonetheless, he walked to the front desk.

"Hello, how many nights are you going to stay?" The man at the counter asked, leaning his elbows on it.

"Just one night. I have 7 copper, would that be enough?"

"I’m afraid it’s 10 copper for one night. Don’t worry, I’ll let you do some work in the morning to pay it off.”

“Thank you.”

The man only gave him a grin before pointing down the hall. “That room, left of the middle door.”

Dream nodded, then waved a little before going inside said room.

The room was much nicer than he had expected- Of course, the price was 10 copper. But this room looked around the price of 10 silver with the pre-made bed, polished nightstand, and decorative more-than-functional lamp.

Sitting gently on the bed, because he was scared to break something so nice- Dream pulled out the white mask that haunted his mind.

It’d been less than a day, but already Dream wanted to put the mask back on. Something urged his very being to put the mask back on and never take it off.

Later on, he'd believe himself a fool and a saint for keeping the mask with him.

For now, Dream would sleep soundly in the comfort of a place where they couldn't look for him.


	3. Chapter 3

It had been 4 years. Dream had had to start over with his life- And in the morning, he had asked the inn keeper where to find a job. The inn keeper, whose name was Mr. Beast, offered him a job as an errand boy.  
Mr. Beast had taught Dream a lot. How to actually give, how to trust, and how to find happiness where you are.

Dream was satisfied with his life, finally. With a roof over his head and warm meals everyday, there was no reason for him not to be satisfied.

He didn’t allow himself to ever regret the choice he made on that fateful day 4 years ago- It would only cause him regret and sadness.

So, Dream woke up from a restful sleep on a Monday morning, light shining through the windows.

Getting out of bed, Dream rubbed his eyes as he walked to his closet. He took a look through his window.

What surprised him was seeing a large crowd facing towards where a man stood on a stool. Two Royal officers were beside him.

Dream, wanting to know what was going on, opened up his window to listen in to what the man was preaching.

“-oyal guard has captured thieves Wilbur Soot and his accomplice, Tommy Innit!” The man shouted, reading from a scroll. 

Dream’s heart dropped as the crowd cheered. 

They got captured? How? They should’ve gone to the harbor by now. They should have made it to the mainland on a safe little boat, far away with the ring.

Dream stared as the man then spoke, quieting the crowd,

“A man named Dream is summoned to the capital!”

The crowd started gossiping, wondering who the hell Dream was. But the ones who knew Dream from staying at the inn, only stared up at his window and at Dream’s agape mouth.

“He stands around 6’2, owns a white mask, and was last seen in the town of Floridis!”

Many people erupted into talk, some pointing at Dream. The Royal officers looked up at him; One had a white bandana and the other had goggles.

Dream closed his window, and it was taking all of his will not to panic as he watched the goggled one move to knock on the inn’s door. Mr. Beast answered the door, and he assumed the man told his boss of the situation, because Mr. Beast allowed the guards through.

Dream was inhaling and exhaling as he tried to think of a way to get out of this- He couldn’t let himself get captured. Not now. Not today. Not ever.

He froze when he heard the quick knocking of someone. It wasn’t Mr. Beast, who knocked only twice. It had to be one of the guards. 

“Come in.” He heard himself say, but Dream felt 1000 miles away from being in control of his body.

The one with the bandana walked in first, then moved out of the way to allow the one with goggles in. Mr. Beast only stood in the doorway.

“Sir Dream, you are hereby detained and under the custody of the Royal Guard.” The goggled one spoke with a British accent, and it made him ache, reminding him of Wilbur and Tommy.

They were probably dead at this point- A swift execution to put an end to this 4 year goose chase.

Dream only held his head high in spite of the panic he felt, glaring from under his mask.

“What if I refuse to go?”

“Then we will have to take you by force.” The one with the bandana threatened, smirking a little at the thought of entertainment.

Dream mulled it over, not breaking eye contact with the man. He then lowered his head a little and held out his hands to be cuffed.

The British officer pulled out a thing of handcuffs, and then clicked them onto Dream.

“Follow us, please.” The goggled one turned, and the bandana guard moved behind Dream to make sure he didn’t try to escape.

He was led into a carriage- Which was unusual treatment for someone like him. 

A criminal doesn’t deserve such noble treatment. 

What, were they buttering him up before they cut his head off? Dream scowled.

The two men sat in the carriage with him, the British one next to Dream and the bandana one across from them.

“Sapnap, can you signal we’re ready to get moving? At this rate we won’t even make it to the resting point.” The British man asked Sapnap, who nodded and stuck his head out the window to call out to get moving.

Dream looked out the carriage window to his left, watching Mr. Beast only stare. He looked to his hands to avoid eye contact.

“Why am I here?”

“For helping Wilbur Soot and Tommy Innit escape Floridis.” The goggled guard replied simply.

“Geez, George, why do you always have to be so formal?” Sapnap crossed his arms, leaning back against the comfy seat.

“We could lose our jobs if we aren’t.” George scowled.

Dream only watched in confusion. Why the fancy treatment? Why did they need to regard him formally? He was a criminal. 

“Ay, smiley, you can take that thing off you know. Or do you want me to do it since your hands are cuffed?” Sapnap reached towards the mask Dream was wearing.

Dream slapped Sapnap’s hand away, gritting his teeth. “Touch it and I’ll kill you.”

Sapnap put his hands up in defensive, “Wow, not so smiley. Okay. That’s fine.”

The trio sat in silence for a few minutes before Sapnap coughed.

“Dream can’t be your real name, that’s so stupid. Who names their kid ‘Dream’?” Sapnap asked.

George gasped, “Sapnap, you can’t just say that to people!”

“Well, I did. Anyway, ‘Dream’,” Sapnap put his fingers up in quotation marks, “What is your real name?”

“My name is Clay.” Dream muttered, staring down at his cuffed hands.

There was a silence for a few seconds, before Dream looked up to make eye contact with George and Sapnap.

Sapnap burst into laughter, “Clay?! Like- Like the block?” 

George reached to slap Sapnap’s arm, who stopped his laughing and let out a little ‘’ow.’’

He looked to Dream, “Well, I think your name is better than Sapnap’s.”

Sapnap’s hurt expression was enough for Dream to burst into laughter of his own.

~

It was almost midnight when they had arrived at their rest-point. Dream was wide awake while Sapnap slept across from him, snoring loudly. George was trying to obviously resist sleep, though, from beside him.

When the carriage stopped, George jolted a little. “Ah, we’re here.” He said after looking through the window.

George kicked Sapnap’s foot, causing the man to yelp awake. 

He clutched his foot, “Oww, why’d you do that, Gogy?” Sapnap looked like a wounded puppy.

“I’m leaving you on guard duty to Dream’s room. We’ll switch out after I get sleep.” George glared a little.

“No fair.”

“Yes fair.”

“No fa-” Dream cut Sapnap off, knowing this would probably go on a while.

“I’m tired too, can you please just bring me to my room?” 

“Fine.” Sapnap was the first to get out of the carriage. 

Then Dream stepped out, stumbling because of his legs being asleep. Sapnap reached his arms out a little, ready to catch him if Dream were to fall.

George wasn’t stepping out, so Sapnap peaked back into the carriage.

“What’s taking so long?” Sapnap gave a sense of mock-annoyance.

“I can’t find our permit.” George turned to look back at Sapnap.

“What do you mean you can’t find our permit?” The man groaned.

“What permit?” Dream turned his head to the side a little in question.

“The one that gives us permission to stay a night without charge.” George explained, turning back to where he was searching the cushions.

“Wait, Dream, you have money on you, yeah?” Sapnap looked towards Dream.

Dream scrunched his face up, knowing where this was going. 

“The rooms we reserved are 6 silver in total.” Sapnap continued, even though George in the background was still searching.

“Why should I give money to you two?” Dream spat.

“Well, we’re the ones who have custody of you. We could sleep in the carriage and leave you to sleep in the mud.”

Dream grit his teeth. “My money pouch is in the back pocket of my pants.” He’d rather not get soaked in the upcoming rain tonight.

“Thanks a lot!” Sapnap pulled out 6 silver and then pocketed his money pouch. “I’ll hold onto this for now.”

Dream rolled his eyes. He missed the formal treatment already.

“Hey, Gogy, I got the money to just buy the rooms!” Sapnap grinned.

“Where’d you get tha- You know what, nevermind. Let’s just go in before it starts pouring.” George finally stepped out of the carriage.

The trio walked inside, and Sapnap slid the 6 silver across the counter. The innkeeper’s eyes went wide, “Which rooms do you want?”

“Any.”

The innkeeper only nodded before handing Sapnap a set of two keys, who in turn thanked the person.

Sapnap turned to George and Dream, holding up the keys. "Dream, you are bunking with George. I'm getting the room for myself."

"Why didn't we just buy one room? Or 3?" Dream questioned, not excited on the idea of sharing a bed with a guard. Or worse, sleeping on the floor.

"Buy one room, get a discount for the second one." George answered, "I'll be taking the bed though."

Dream rolled his eyes. Of course, George would obviously get the bed.

"I'm going to hit the hay. Have fun being on watch, George." Sapnap turned to go to his room.

George stuck his tongue out at Sapnap's back.

"..so, uh, are you going to uncuff me?" Dream asked the Brit.

"No, because you could escape or suffocate me in my sleep."

"Understandable."

"Let's get to our rooms, I'm exhausted. Sapnap and I had to look everywhere for you."

"Oh really?" Dream walked down the hall with George.

"We were actually searching for a week and a half before now. The king was thinking you had started a new life at the mainland or something."

"I'm good at hiding in plain sight, I guess." Dream cracked a grin that was evident even in his tone.

George smiled a bit before that expression dropped. "I have to ask you something."

"Yes?" Dream asked.

George sighed, "Let's go inside the room first."

The room was nicely furnished, with even a reading chair. The bed was made with soft linens and the rug had no stains.

"What is it?" Dream turned his attention back to George.

"..did you really divert the attention away by faking having the ring?" George's tone was quiet.

Dream almost laughed at how simple the question was, and he nodded in response.

What came out of George's mouth next surprised him, though.

"Why?"

Dream froze, breath caught in his throat.

"They were only strangers. You knew them for a day, at most. You knew them as criminals-"

"I guess I sympathized."

"How? What was your life? You weren't a criminal against the crown."

The words spilled out of his mouth, "I was. I was a thief, just like them. I stole from merchants all over my town."

George stood there in stunned silence, about to say something before Dream cut him off.

"They were trying to survive in this hell. They wanted out and they had a chance. Why take that away?"

"You don't hold any regret from helping them? Even while you're in the custody of the crown?"

Dream smiled, a genuine smile. "I'd still help them a hundred times over, even if I knew this was the outcome."

George stood there, trying to think of a way to respond. He fumbled for words as Dream made his way to the reading chair before lay-sitting in it. The masked man pulled his hood over his face.

"Goodnight, George."

George stuttered a little in a delayed response. "Goodnight, Dream." He whispered.

George watched Dream for a bit before going and laying on the bed. He stayed up, thoughts racing through his head.

"Who throws their life away for strangers?" He whispered into the darkness.

"A madman," Dream's voice whispered back.

~~

In the morning, George had woken up at daybreak. He went to Sapnap’s room to find the man drooling and sprawled in his bed at an odd angle. The man nearly shrieked when George shook him awake.

“We need to get moving immediately if we want to get there by noon.” The British man told his friend.

“5 more minutes..?” Sapnap pulled a pillow over his face.

“No, we should leave now. The sun has already rose.” George snatched the pillow away.

Sapnap groaned, “No, we should leave now. Because I’m George and insane for waking at dawn.” He mimicked George’s accent poorly.

“Just get up.” Rolling his eyes, Sapnap complied.

“I thought you liked your sleep as much as me, Gogy.” Sapnap brought up as the two walked back to George’s room to wake their prisoner.

“The King told me that we should arrive as quickly as possible. He’s not as patient as the old one.”

Sapnap rolled his eyes, “I still don’t get why the old guy gave up his crown just for the ring.”

George sighed, “I don’t know, either.”

In silence, they went into George and Dream’s room. Dream was sleeping soundly on the chair, not snoring or anything. It seemed more like the man was dead rather than asleep.

Both Sapnap and George looked to each other, then silently raised their hands in an unspoken agreement to play rock paper scissors.

On the third round, Sapnap had lost to George by 1-2. He made a face, “Do I have to?”

“Yes, you lost, so you have to.” 

Sapnap took a deep breath in, before he reached out to poke Dream.

Dream’s sleepy voice made both guards jump.

“I’m already awake.”

“Why didn’t you say anything then?” Sapnap frowned, while George started laughing.  
“Sapnap, you looked about to piss yourself!”

“I did not!”

They stopped their bickering when Dream sat up, “Is it time to leave?”

George nodded, “We’re all ready to go. We should arrive at the capital by midday.”

The atmosphere had changed from playful to dreadful really quickly. Sapnap coughed awkwardly, “We should get going.”

Dream only nodded, before getting to his feet. 

The trio walked out of the inn before getting in the carriage. George did a quick check to make sure all their belongings were still where they had put them. Sapnap did the signal to the driver to start moving.

Dream only leaned back in his seat, sighing lightly to himself. Last night, he had trouble falling asleep. His thoughts were plagued with visions of guillotines. Which type of basket would his severed head fall in? Wicker, or a bucket type?

When the masked man shivered, Sapnap asked if he was cold.

“No, I’m fine.” Came Dream’s short response.

The trio sat in silence for about an hour, before George pointed at something through the window.

“Look! A town. Should we stop to get breakfast?” 

“I’m not very hungry.” Sapnap replied, “Are you, Dream?”

Dream only shook his head, looking at the town. There were young children running around, mothers trying to group them back together, and fathers doing daily errands. It was a lively morning.

“We really should get food.” George muttered. 

“What’s the point?” Dream spat, voice laced with venom. 

George raised his hands up in defense. 

“Looks like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed.” Sapnap murmured.  
“I don’t know if you noticed, but we’re going to the capital!” Dream shouted.

“And?”

Dream threw his hands up, “Do you think I’ll be so happy-go-lucky when I’m about to be executed?!”

Sapnap blinked. “You have a point there.”

Dream crossed his arms, looking out the window. There was silence for a few minutes before the masked man spoke again, “I’m stressed.”

George put a hesitant hand on Dream’s shoulder. “I can’t imagine what you’re feeling. I’m.. Sorry.”

Dream was frozen to the spot. Slowly, tears started to make their way down his face. They dripped down from his mask to his cuffed hands.

“You’re not a bad person.” Sapnap whispered, afraid that if he spoke any louder, Dream would shatter into a million pieces.

Dream spat back, “You don’t know me.”

“How about we start, then?” George offered a smile.

~

It was Midday when they arrived at the capital, just like George had said. The trio had talked all the way there. And admittedly, it had calmed Dream’s nerves a little. He felt like he was in the company of friends.

But as they rode through the palace gates, Dream was hit with the harsh truth once more.

Sapnap and George had fallen quiet, looking anywhere but him. Dream only watched through the window, scanning the faces of guards and nobles alike. They all looked at him with a mixture of disgust and interest. Understandably so; Dream was nothing more than a criminal about to be beheaded.

The carriage eventually came to a stop, and the door opened. Sapnap walked out first, then beckoned Dream to follow. George came up the rear.

Dream covered his eyes a little at how bright the sun was, then looked around. He had never actually been to the castle- But now, he was standing right in front of the doors. Taking a deep breath in, he followed Sapnap in.

His eyes had to adjust to the lack of brightness inside. Walking down a hall filled with paintings and guards, the trio eventually came in front of doors as big as the front ones.

Sapnap took a deep breath, then turned to Dream, “It was nice meeting you.”

Dream smiled from under his mask, “You too.”

He sucked in a deep breath when Sapnap opened the doors. 

It was the throne room. Stained glass windows shone light onto the throne.

Where Technoblade sat.

“You.” Dream whispered, still trailing behind Sapnap. George had to remind him to walk forward.

They stopped about 5 feet away from the boar man, Sapnap and George stepping to be beside Dream. They kneeled in unison. 

“Dream.” Techno’s voice shook every bone in Dream’s body. "Imagine seeing each other again after 4 years."

“How did you end up king?” Dream hissed, and George side-eyed him as a warning to be careful.

“That’s not why you were brought here.” Techno averted the question. 

“Why was I, then?” Dream glared from under his mask up at the king.

His entire body froze when he heard Tommy call out to him.

“Dream!”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't mean for this to take almost 20 days, oops. Well, anyway, this is gonna be a hell of a ride of a chapter. I hope I've written it well.

Dream whipped his head to the side to see Tommy rushing towards him. “Dream! You’re here!”

He couldn’t speak as Tommy hugged him.

“Tommy! You need to ask for permission to hug people!” Wilbur scolded, rushing over to the two.

Tommy quickly released his hold on the masked man, “Sorry, sorry. Why are you cuffed?”

Dream sputtered a little, his words dying in his throat. Wilbur and Tommy were alive? And not cuffed? And here, in the palace? And asking him why he was cuffed?

Technoblade spoke up, “He’s cuffed, because I doubt he would’ve come willingly.”

Wilbur scoffed, “You probably freaked him out. You two, uncuff him right now.” He gestured to Sapnap and George.

The two guards scrambled to their feet, quickly uncuffing the shocked man.

“..How.. How are you two..” Dream rubbed his wrists, staring at Wilbur and Tommy.

“It’s.. Kind of a long story.” Wilbur smiled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

“But let’s catch up for now!” Tommy tugged on Dream’s arm childishly. 

Dream is only stood there, shell-shocked. He can’t believe it. Nothing that has happened so far seems real to him. The friends he made on a fateful day 4 years ago.. Are still alive? How? Why? And why did they call him here? They had only met for one day, even though they had become friends.

The masked man clutched his head, wobbling to the side a little. He felt dizzy. More than dizzy; He felt sick.

“Dream, are you alright?” Came Wilbur’s concerned voice from some direction; Dream didn’t know where. All he knew was that the floor was excitedly jumping up to meet him.

~

When Dream awoke, his face felt bare. There was something cold and wet on his forehead, and when he sat up, it fell off.  
Dream picked up the cloth, studying it for a moment, before he froze. His hands came up and touched his face; His bare face.

Where was his mask?

The unmasked man was internally panicking, but took a deep breath to try to keep his cool. He carefully got out of the soft bed he was in, stumbling a little.

Dream walked towards the door, but as he was about to turn the knob, he heard a voice behind him. 

“You should get back in bed.” 

Whipping around, Dream saw Techno sitting in a reading chair by a bookshelf. He had an open book on his lap, with his legs crossed.

“..What.. What happened to my mask?” 

“When you collapsed oh-so dramatically, it broke.” The boar man stated simply. 

Dream felt the air knocked out of him. He felt as though a limb got cut off. That mask.. He needed it back. Even if it was in bits and pieces by this point; He needed it.

“Now, you should probably get back in bed before Wilbur and Tommy get back. They’ll yell at me for letting you out of it.”

Dream only scrunched up his face. “Let them yell at you. Why should I care? I’m leaving.”

“I’m afraid you can’t.” Techno closed his book, placing it back on the bookshelf and standing up.

“And why not?” Dream didn’t realize he was backing up until his back hit the door.

“You’d break Tommy’s heart. I was the one who funded your trip here. And I did that for his sake, not yours.” 

Dream was about to say something, before he fell onto someone when the door opened. He scrambled up.

PhilZa was on the ground, holding his head. 

“I’m so sorry.” Dream extended a hand for Phil to take. The older man only laughed a little.

“It’s fine. Are you alright?”

Dream nodded, helping pull Phil up.

“I brought new washcloths, but I assume since you’re out of bed you don’t need them.”

“Just because he’s out of bed doesn’t mean he’s well, Phil.” Dream heard Techno say from behind them.

“Then what are you doing letting him out of bed?” Phil lightly pushed Dream back into the room. “Get back in bed.”

Dream sputtered a little, about to say no, before he looked over his shoulder and saw Technoblade glaring at him. His lips pressed into a thin line, before he allowed himself to be put back into bed.

“We never properly introduced ourselves. I’m Phil.” Phil put a wet rag on Dream’s forehead. The water felt freezing cold.

“How.. How did you cool this rag so much? It’s freezing.” Dream tried taking the rag off of his head.

“It’s lukewarm water. Your fever is worse than I thought.” Phil frowned a little, then looked to the door as a certain blond burst through.

“Dream! You’re awake! Big man, don’t scare us like that again!” Tommy rushed over.

Wilbur came trailing in, “How do you feel?” 

“I feel fine-” Dream was interrupted by Phil.

“He thinks the water is freezing cold.” 

“Damn. Bad, then.”

A guard poked his head into the room, “Yes, your highnesses?”

“Oh, no. I didn’t mean you. I mean the adjective.” Wilbur calmly explained, like this happened daily.

“Oh, okay! If you’ll excuse me, then I’ll go back to my patrol!” The guard left cheerfully.

Dream sat up, “Who was that?”

“A guard. He patrols this hallway and his name is Bad.”

“What’s wrong with his name?”

“No, his name is literally Bad.” 

Tommy butt in with a grin, “He’s fun to swear around. All ‘Language’ and shit.” 

“Anyway,” Phil waved his hand, “We should leave Dream to sleep.”

Tommy pouted, “C’mon, Phil, it’s been 4 years since I’ve seen him!” 

“And he’s not going anyway, now is he?” Phil led Tommy out the door, mouthing a ‘rest well’ to Dream on his way out.

Techno coughed awkwardly, “I’m sick of watching people sleep. Wilbur, it’s your turn.”

With that, the boar man left Wilbur and Dream.

“So.. Do you still play music?” Dream tried to break the ice.

Wilbur lightly laughed, “Which kind, the magic kind or the normal kind?”

“Both, I guess.”

“I do. Do you want to hear my latest song?”

“Sure.” 

“Let me go grab my guitar.” Wilbur walked out of the room.

Dream sat there in bed, frowning slightly. Why wasn’t he getting up and leaving? Why was he playing house with these.. Idiots? He didn’t have to. He could just go back to the inn- No, Mr. Beast probably still thought Dream was a criminal. He wouldn’t take Dream back as an employee.

How many times do I have to restart my life for strangers?

“What?” Wilbur asked Dream, who flinched and looked up, not seeing Wilbur walk into the room.

“What?” 

“Did you say something?"

Dream forced himself to not show his shock at the fact he had said that aloud. “No,” He shook his head, “I was thinking about my job back at the inn.”

“Ah. Okay.” Wilbur pulled a chair close to Dream’s bed, he tuned his guitar a little.

“Dream, tell me, why did you help us 4 years ago?”

Dream frowned at the unexpected question. He shrugged. “I don’t really know.”

“That’s it? You threw away your life for us- We can’t ever repay you.” Wilbur whispered.

“People do things without motives.” 

“Seems like an irresponsible choice, then.”

Dream grinned, “Well, that makes me an irresponsible man.”

“I guess so,” Wilbur smiled back, starting to strum his guitar.

Dream listened to Wilbur’s tunes deep into the night. The two conversed about many topics- They even talked about meaningless things like their favorite colors.

“Did you know that we have a colorblind guard?” Wilbur had brought up.

“Oh, really? I’ve never met someone who’s colorblind.”

“Well, you have. He was the one with the goggles.”

“Wow. George was?”

Wilbur nodded. “When Tommy and I were first escorted by that one and some other one, Tommy wouldn’t stop asking him questions.”

“Can you imagine seeing a color as a completely different one? That’s.. So strange to me.” 

“Same. I can’t imagine how ugly everything looks to him and people like him.”

~

The night had quickly turned into day, and Dream didn’t remember falling asleep. But as he blinked his eyes open, he saw Wilbur leaning back in the chair, snoring a little. 

Someone knocked on the door, before gently opening it. Phil’s head poked in, “Hello.”

“Hi.” Dream kept his voice a little quiet, as to not wake Wilbur.

Phil quietly walked into the room, closing the door behind him. He walked over to Dream before feeling his forehead. The unmasked man leaned a little away at the sudden contact.

“Good, your fever’s gone.” The older man removed his hand.

“Should we wake Wilbur up?” Asked Dream, not knowing how to respond to the fact he was better than yesterday.

Phil nodded, before going over and shaking Wilbur’s shoulder a little. Wilbur blinked his eyes open, “What time is it?”

“Almost half past noon. We need to get ready for the feast.”

“What feast?”

“Tommy and I wanted to hold a feast in your honor. It’s nice seeing a friend again after 4 years.” Wilbur stretched, standing up.

“..I’m touched.” Dream gave a hesitant smile. It’s true- He was touched. But he couldn’t shake the feeling of not belonging here. He felt as though he was intruding on a happy family that didn’t have room for him.

“The food’s gonna be great.” Phil grinned, “We had special chefs hired and everything.”

Dream’s stomach growled involuntarily, and his face went a little red, embarrassed.  
“Uh, when’s the feast?” He awkwardly asked.

“In an hour or two. Let’s go grab you a snack though.” Wilbur led Dream out of the room and through several hallways before they entered a kitchen. 

Several servants were hustling about, preparing for the upcoming event. 

Wilbur calmly took a roll off a stove, handing it over to Dream. “Come on, I can show you around the palace while you eat that.”

“Okay. Thank you.” Dream was led out of the kitchen, taking a bite of the roll. 

When they rounded the corner of the hallway, Dream almost ran into Tommy.

“Wilbur! Dream!” Tommy’s face lit up, “I’ve been looking everywhere for you guys!”

“I’m showing Dream around at the moment. Would you like to join us?” When Wilbur offered, Tommy nodded vigorously with a big grin.

“Come on, then.” Wilbur started to led the two down the hall. Dream followed behind Wilbur quietly.

“Dream! I gotta show you something!” Tommy put his hand on Dream’s shoulder. 

Dream looked over, “Yeah, what is it?” 

“I was looking for you guys because I wanted to show you my music discs.” Tommy held up discs that Dream recongized as Cat and Mellohi.

“Tommy! You could get them scratched.” Wilbur turned, scolding Tommy a little.

Tommy ignored him, “These are what I have left of Tubbo. He gave them to me when we were very little.”

Dream’s posture stiffened, lips pressing into a thin line. Something tugged at his chest- Maybe regret? Dream didn’t know. He never had allowed himself to feel that before. 

But seeing how Tommy’s bright face had gone a little dimmer made Dream wish he had brought Tubbo home.

“Sheesh, Tommy, are you trying to guilttrip him or something?” Wilbur’s voice brought Dream back to this moment.

Tommy’s eyes went wide, “No- No! I wasn’t trying to do that!”

Wilbur sighed, then turned his head to Dream, “Listen, it’s fine if you didn’t find Tubbo. It’s fine if you didn’t attempt. You did more than we could ask for at the time.”

Dream only looked down a little, murmuring, “Okay.”

The trio walked in silence for a bit, and Dream admired paintings hung up on the tall walls. He stopped at a painting of Phil, Techno, Wilbur, and Tommy. 

Techno was stood holding a sword like someone would hold a cane. Phil sat on a fancy chair, while Wilbur stood behind him. Tommy stood in the center of the painting- And Dream had to admit, the artist had done a very good job at painting their personalities.

Tommy and Wilbur had stopped with him.

“I have to ask something.. How did you guys become royalty?” Dream looked over to the two.

“Techno was handed the crown as his reward for capturing us and returning the ring.” Wilbur explained, “He then pardoned us from any punishment.”

“Why, though?” 

“Hell if we know. All we know is that we have the Blade in our corner!” Tommy grinned.

Dream found himself frowning and uneasy. Wilbur started to frown as well.

The musician sighed, “We know he’s not going to turn on us. So we’ll be okay.”

The unmasked man only gave a hesitant nod, “Alright then.” He didn’t know why he was so concerned over Tommy and Wilbur’s wellbeing. But that new king gave him the creeps.

“..In other news, the seating chart places you right beside Techno.” Wilbur coughed into his hand awkwardly.

“..What?” Dream spat. “Who’s in charge of the seating chart?”

“Phil. He thought you two needed to get acquainted better.” Tommy informed.

Dream put his face in his hands, “I’m not gonna survive this.”

“Oh, don’t be like that, big man!” Tommy put his hand on Dream’s shoulder, reminding Dream how tall the kid was, “I’ll be sitting next to you, too!”

Wilbur butt in with a grin, “I think we need to get the coffin ready, then.”

“Hey, that’s mean!” Tommy punched Wilbur’s shoulder in a playful manner.

Dream chuckled a little when the two started to bicker. His attention then was turned to a servant who approached the trio.

“Your highnesses, and Sir Dream,” The servant bowed. “We’re ready to start the feast.”

“The nobles have all arrived? This early?” The servant only nodded at Wilbur.

“Well, that means we can start an hour earlier. Don’t want to keep them waiting.” 

Dream mentally prepared himself for the feast as he trailed behind Tommy, Wilbur, and the servant escorting them.

He really didn’t want to sit next to Technoblade.

~

Dream had to squint as they entered the bright, giant room. The table was bigger than any house from his village, and the food on it could feed Floridis for 60 years; He was sure of it.

“Announcing the entrance of our Highnesses; Tommy and Wilbur, along with Sir Dream.” The servant spoke in a booming voice to the room.

Dream refused to let himself become self-concious at the nobles staring at him- Prying him apart with their gazes. He held his head a little higher as he went and sat down in his seat. The door that had closed behind the group opened slowly again- But this time for a different person. 

A certain boar man walked into the room, pausing for a servant to announce his arrival.

“Our gracious and glorious Blood King; Technoblade.” With those words, every nobleman and woman stood, and Dream fumbled to stand up as well. They all bowed to him, with Dream bowing a millisecond later. No one had told the unmasked man he needed to bow.

Technoblade made his way to the throne-like dining chair at the end of the table. A servant pulled it out for him, but he didn’t sit down. Instead, he lifted an empty wine glass.

“Thank you all for attending this feast. We are here today to celebrate the arrival of Dream; As you may not know, he saved Tommy and Wilbur’s lives several years ago from, well, me and Phil.”

Dream made eye contact with Techno. The King offered a smile to him, surprisingly, but Dream did not return it.

“He allowed the two to survive until my change of heart. And for that, Dream, I thank you.” Techno then sat, “Anyway, enough talk. Let the feast begin!”

As Technoblade sat down, the nobles did too, so Dream followed suit. Tommy had started eating almost instantly.

“Dream, you have to try this!” Speaking with his mouth full, Tommy held up a piece of bread. Dream looked to his own plate, then hesitantly picked up what Tommy had told him to.

“What’s so special about this bread?” Dream looked at the bread as if it were poison.

Phil, from next to Wilbur, laughed, “It’s just buttered. It’s really good, though.”

Dream slowly and cautiously took a bite, then his eyes widened. “This.. This is delicious.” He quickly ate the rest.

Tommy laughed, then coughed, hitting his own chest a little to stop his choking, “See, I told you!”

Dream was startled a bit when he heard Techno’s voice from beside him, “I can get a servant to bring out more, if you want.”

“No, no, that’s fine.” Dream fumbled a little, his nerves causing him to stutter a little too.

“Geez, you look like you’re about to have a heart attack. Calm down, it’s just bread.” Techno joked, but there was a slight hint of concern in his voice that Dream didn’t catch until much later.

Wilbur then butt in, “Dream, what do you think of Techno’s opening speech? I wrote it for him.” His eyes sparkled with pride.

“I liked it, it was really cool.” Despite Dream’s almost stroke earlier, he was still delivered more buttered bread. He thanked the servant before they scurried away.

“I hate having to talk.” Technoblade stabbed at his food, “The original speech was so long, I had to practically beg Wilbur to trim it down.”

“That surprises me. You look like you have a big ego.” Dream stated absentmindly, taking a bite of his bread. He coughed, “Sorry, did I say that aloud?”

Techno was laughing though, “Big talk for someone like you.” In his voice, Dream could sense a hint of annoyance. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Wilbur tense.

“Someone like me, eh?” Dream gave a fake smile, “Do go on.” He put down the bread.

Techno responded with a smile of his own, just as dangerous, “Someone who runs instead of fights.. That’s ‘someone like you.’”

“The man who follows is just as stupid, right?” 

“The man who follows knows what he is risking, and thinks before acting.”

“I believe in a man who thinks in the moment; Much more reliable.”

“You had a 7.5 trillion chance of having the ring.” Techno rolled his eyes, then went back to picking at his food.

“But there was a chance. And you took that chance. I forced you to think in the moment.” Dream gave a wide, genuine grin. 

“I took that chance because Phil believed it. I didn’t want Phil to get hurt.”

“You had to adapt to making choices in the moment- That caused you to panic. The panic caused you to not realize that climbing up the tree wasn’t the best option. The man who makes decisions in the moment is wiser because he can adapt without panic.”

“The man who makes decisions like that doesn’t think of consequences. I bet you didn’t realize you had to restart your life, for lying like that, until you had run far enough away from us.”

“Consequences are less important than actions.”

“I have to disagree. What I say to you, or you say to me, could cause us to be enemies in the future.”

“But that’s a then situation, correct?”

“A then situation that can be avoided with just a few words.” There was an underlying threat in Techno’s tone; A warning to stop this conversation now. But Dream only grinned wider, knowing he was getting under the King’s skin.

“A single word, huh?” Dream studied Techno’s mask- Looking at the small imperfections on the boar face. Wood chipped from years of use; the paint worn. “I wonder how a king could crumble with just a few words.” He made eye contact.

“Humans break down at a few words. A King is forever human, but for someone like me, I’m God. Do you think God could yield to the tongue of a disobedient human, Dream?” Techno’s gaze was cold now, no grin on his face. 

“I suppose that’s true. Though Gods do have their respective weaknesses.”

“You’ve heard the story of Adam and Eve. God saw through their lies, and he punished them. He did not crumble to a few words.”

“But the truth of the matter is, you’re not God.” Dream’s voice raised a little, causing Phil and Tommy to stop their conversation, along with a few nobles close to them. “You are just like everyone in this room- You are human and you are not stronger than anyone here.” He sucked in a breath, 

“You are not stronger than me.”

Techno’s laughter was cold and mocking, “You’ve never faced me head on or directly. You’ve only ran. And in that regarde, you are pathetic compared to me.”

In the silence that followed after that statement, Dream could practically hear everyone’s breathing. They were anxious to hear Dream’s response- Or even see his lack of one. He smirked, then spread his arms out.

“Don’t you get it, Blood God?” He laughed; Genuine laughter, that shook his comrades but left Techno unfazed.

“You and I are complete opposites! You are a man of few words, and I am a man of many. You think ahead; I think in the moment. I take risks, and you. You, Technoblade, play it safe.” Dream’s gaze was full of humor as he met Techno’s cold one.

Technoblade opened his mouth to say something, before Dream raised his hand to silence him. Quickly glancing around, he saw the agape expressions of Wilbur and Phil. He couldn’t see Tommy’s expression, though he heard his gasp.

“However.” Dream leaned forward in his chair as close as he could to Technoblade. His voice lowered into a dark and sinister tone, “I am your only equal.”

“Then do it; Make a choice where you consider the consequences.” With that, the king stood up and left, food still stacked on his plate but going cold.

“I’m surprised you got out of that alive.” Wilbur let out a sigh of relief.

“I’m going after him.” Dream announced, standing up. Phil reached towards him, about to say ‘’no, that’s a bad idea,’’ or something, but Dream was already gone to the direction of Techno.

Wandering through the halls, Dream couldn't help but compare it to a maze of some sort. Every wall looked the same, with the occasional painting here and there.

He stumbled up a room with a hard stone floor. Technoblade was no longer wearing his kingly outfit, crown even set aside.

"Your castle is like a labyrinth." Dream commented, standing at the doorway.

"I've been meaning to make a new name for this castle. All other kingdoms have their castles named something cool." Techno's lips quirked up.

"Oh yeah, didn't the king of the southern island have his named, 'The Golden Halls' or something?"

"It was 'The Golden Walls.'" Techno corrected. He picked up a sword from a rack on the wall that Dream didn't see.

"You could name yours 'The Boar's Labyrinth.' Sounds cooler than something about gold, anyway."

"The castle’s easy to navigate, so I think calling it something about a maze isn’t a good idea.” Technoblade studied the sword he held. It was slightly dull, but that was fine; It looked just as powerful as any other sword. The handle had intricate designs on it- Swirls and patterns Dream didn’t know the name to. 

“Here,” Techno offered the sword to him, pulling Dream out of his thoughts. Dream backed up a little.

“What?”

“Let’s duel. Unless, of course, you think I’m stronger than you.” Technoblade unsheathed his own sword- One made of a very blue material. Dream’s eyes widened as he realized it was diamond.

“If I win this, you have to get me a new mask, just like my old one.” Dream took the dull sword from Techno, getting into a fighting stance.

“Deal.” With that, the boar man swung at Dream.

Dream’s heart pounded in his ears as he was almost knocked off his feet. He had good enough reflexes to block with his sword and push back against Techno.

“What about shields?” Dream huffed, managing to push the king away.

“I don’t really like them.” Was all Techno replied before he swung again. This time, Dream dodged, then tried striking. Techno, of course, saw it coming, so he raised his sword to counter it.

The only noise in the room was metal scraping against metal as the two men fought. Dream was grinning stupidly; Adrenaline and confidence filling his veins, allowing him to move quick and strike hard. He lifted his sword to try and attack at a different angle, but Techno moved away.

Dream briefly heard the noise of doors opening from behind him, but all he could focus on was the man in front of him. Techno’s speciality was rushing his opponent, attacking hard and often too quick for the enemy to react in time. 

Dream, however, knew how to be quick. His skill was dodging swiftly; Almost running circles around the person he’d face. But, he also knew how to attack when the time was right- And attack when the time wasn’t even in his favor.   
He pushed his sword to meet Techno’s; It was a little too late when he realized he was holding the wrong side of the blade up, so blood ran down his sleeve. As the sword pushed deeper into his palm, Dream felt his body react without him. His hands caved in to the pain and lessened his hold on the sword, making his weapon fly to the corner of the room.

Techno pulled back, about to announce the duel over, when Dream scrambled to retrieve his sword. The boar man narrowed his eyes, then grabbed a hold of the unmasked man’s hoodie a little too late. Dream spun around to swing his sword at Techno.

Unprepared, Technoblade had to move backwards to avoid it. He now was scowling, a bitter taste in his mouth. Dream acted like his life depended on this simple duel.

Techno stared at the man’s bleeding hands that gripped the dull sword. That had to be painful. Nonetheless, Dream was fighting like it wasn’t anything, so the Blood God had to give him that.

The unmasked man rushed Techno, but was met with the diamond sword pushing against his own. Dream huffed, obviously agitated, before he flung the sword to the side. Techno stopped his sword’s advance, not wanting to cut Dream in two. But Dream only tackled Techno to the floor.

Dream’s fist came down on Techno’s jaw before he could realize it. The king kicked Dream off of him, before switching their position. Technoblade swung his fist, knocking one of the unmasked man’s teeth out. Dream grabbed Techno’s arm and bit into it, sinking unsharpened teeth into flesh. 

The king ripped his arm away, before all the sudden he was grabbed by someone. Not realizing who it was, Techno tried elbowing the person in the face. His eyes widened when he heard Phil’s grumbling from behind him.

“You got me good, nice elbowing.” Phil was rubbing his now bloody nose.

Techno finally got off of Dream, facing Phil, “I didn’t know it was you. I’m sorry.” He awkwardly apologized.

Dream, meanwhile, scrambled to his feet. “We weren’t finished.” His chest was heaving wildly and his step was staggered. 

Techno only stared with a blank expression, “Your hands are bleeding. Go get some medical attention.” 

“I said, we weren’t finished!” Dream spat, grabbing Techno’s collar. His gaze was far away but all too closed in at the same time; It unsettled Techno a little.

“We are. Now get your dirty hands off of me.” The king ripped Dream’s hands away. There were bloody handprints now on Techno’s shirt, making him sneer with disgust. “Look what you did. I’ll have to go change now.”

Dream’s eyes were only focused on his own hands. The man was shaking and digging his nails into his palms, making the bleeding worse. He flinched when Wilbur’s hand was put on his shoulder.

“You’re hurting yourself. Come on, we’ll get your hands clean for you.” Wilbur offered a gentle, but nervous smile. The musician was honestly pretty worried about Dream. He was almost sure of it that he wasn’t mentally well. 

“..Okay.” Dream’s eyes were still glued to his hands. 

Wilbur gently took Dream’s hands, then looked to Tommy, who was wide eyed and far away from the rest of the group. “Tommy, can you go run and get bandages?” 

The teenager nodded, then scurried out of the room, hoping to get the bandages as soon as possible.

Wilbur turned his gaze back to the unmasked man, “Now, Dream, you have to stop hurting yourself. We won’t be able to stop your bleeding if you won’t stop it.”

“I’m so frustrated.” Dream huffed, gaze meeting Wilbur’s. Wilbur shivered a bit, seeing the anger in his eyes.

“God fucking damn it!” Dream ripped his hands away from the musician’s, then went and kicked over a rack of swords. “Why couldn’t I win?!”

Tommy returned with the bandages and a wet handtowel a moment later. He offered the items to Wilbur, who accepted them with a nervous smile.

“Sorry, forgot to ask for the towel too. Thanks for thinking of that.” Wilbur mumbled, taking them but waiting for Dream to stop his temper tantrum.

Techno and Phil had left the room already, probably for the king to change his shirt out of the bloodied one and get treatment for his injured arm.

Dream punched the wall, bloodied fists becoming more bloody. Wilbur rushed over to try to stop the man. 

The angry man looked to Wilbur with a crazed look, then grabbed Wilbur’s shoulders. “I had to win, and then I didn’t!” Deep in his gaze, Wilbur could see the purest sadness mixed in and fueling Dream’s frustration.

“I was hoping to win that so he’d get me a new mask.” Dream mumbled, taking his hands off Wilbur. 

“That’s what this all was about? You could’ve come to Tommy or I or even Phil for a new one.” His gaze softened. Wilbur felt bad for Dream, honestly. The unmasked man was focused on minor things- And it got him hurt. Of course, Dream did a fair share of hurting Technoblade as well.

“My mask was special. I think his mask is special too.”

“What do you mean? Like.. Sentimental value?” Tommy butt in from where he was standing off to the side.

“No.. No, nevermind.” Dream shook his head and waved off the topic. The unmasked man could practically feel the two men frowning at him.

The trio stood in silence for a bit, before Wilbur sighed, “We’ll get you a new mask after you let me wrap your hands.”

“Okay.” Unsurprisingly, that didn’t cheer Dream up. Though, Wilbur thought there was a chance he could bring his friend back to reality by making that promise.

~

After Dream’s hands were all clean and bandaged, and his missing tooth was looked at by a doctor, he was sent straight to bed to recover. Phil had ordered a “Family Meeting,” though Techno called it a “Royal Discussion.”

“We shouldn’t have brought Dream to the palace.” Phil was the first one to speak in the dead silent room. They were sitting on couches, with a nice coffee table between them. Tommy was picking at his nails.

“He lost his cool today. That’s only been today.” Wilbur reasoned, trying to change Phil’s opinion. He honestly agreed with the older man deep down, though he didn’t want to admit it.

“Tommy.” Techno brought the teenager into the conversation. Wilbur and Phil held their breath as Tommy’s full attention was given to the king.

“Dream isn’t going to be a replacement for Tubbo.”

Tommy’s mood went from bored to somber in a matter of seconds. He looked away, shoulders slumped. “I know.” He whispered.

“Techno, why would you say that to him?” Phil hissed, putting his hand on the king’s shoulder.

“There’s no use in denying the truth. Dream is deranged.” Techno’s gaze was cold, “He got so worked up for a simple mask.”

“Dream is a good guy.” Wilbur frowned, “You’re the one who instigated him. That mask just has to mean a lot to him. He just got worked up, he’s not a bad perso-”

“The concept of bad or good doesn’t matter when someone isn’t well in the head. What’s going to happen if he snaps at one of you guys?!” Techno raised his voice slightly. 

“I get the final say in decisions. I’m the one who was awarded the crown.” The king lowered his tone, voice laced with venom. “He’s leaving tomorrow, and that’s that. That is the final word in this discussion.” With that, Techno stood up and left.

Phil sighed, before looking to Tommy and Wilbur, “I’m sorry. Techno’s just worried about us.”

“He’s worried about a single outburst. Dream isn’t a replacement for Tubbo, but he’s still a friend.” Wilbur crossed his arms, his posture tense.

Phil was about to argue back, before they heard Tommy’s sniffling from beside them.

“I’m sorry, guys.” The teenager wiped furiously at his eyes, “I should have never asked Techno to find Dream.” He hiccuped, face red with embarrassment and guilt.

“No, no, Tommy, it’s fine.” Wilbur tried putting a hand on Tommy’s shoulder, but Tommy pushed him away.

“It’s not.”

“Tommy, it really is. Come on, stop your crying, this isn’t your fault.” Phil’s gaze softened as he tried to comfort the crying boy.

“I’m not crying!” Tommy snapped at Phil, still wiping at his puffy red eyes. 

“Come on, let’s call it a night.” Phil stood up, and offered a hand to Tommy, who accepted it. “Let’s go listen to Mellohi. That’ll cheer you up.” 

Tommy nodded, then followed Phil to his room. The music discs were stored up on a shelf, right above a jukebox. From in front of him, he saw Phil stop dead in his tracks. 

“Phil? Why’d you stop?”

“Tommy.” Phil turned to the teenager, “Did you move your discs..?” 

Tommy’s eyes widened, then he ran to the shelf. “Where are they?!” He went into a panic, looking under and on every surface in the room. Outside, he heard guards yelling and running through the halls.

Phil looked outside the room, “What’s going on?” He grabbed a guard’s arm to stop them.

“The King is in danger!” The guard shouted, “Please, stay in the room, I'll get someone to guard you two.”

Tommy pushed Phil out of the way, “Where are my discs?” He demanded from the guard. 

“If they’re not here.. I believe Sir Dream might have them.”

Tommy’s blood ran cold, before he took off running in the direction the guards were headed. Phil shouted after him, before taking off too. The guard panicked, worried about his job.

When Phil caught up to Tommy, the teenager was frozen, facing quite the scene in the throne room. 

Technoblade had a sword to his neck, and Dream was talking to him, not loud enough for anyone to hear except those two. Some guards tried to approach, but Dream stopped his chat, pressing the blade slightly into Techno’s throat and drawing blood.

Before Phil could stop the teenager, Tommy pushed to the front of the guards. “Dream! What the hell are you doing?!”

“I’m proving I can make a choice where I think about the consequences.” Dream grinned like a madman, “Don’t come any closer now, Tommy. Or big brother Techno,” His tone was mocking, “Might just get to meet his maker.”

Tommy gulped, backing away a little. Dream laughed; A cruel and joy filled laughter that shook him to the bone. Wilbur grabbed Tommy’s arm and yanked Tommy back behind the line of guards. 

“Now, all I need is my mask. No matter how many pieces it’s in, bring it to me.” Dream ordered the guards, “For the next few minutes, I am your king.”  
Several guards went to go find the mask that had probably been thrown away by now. The air was tense, but surprisingly, Techno looked as calm as ever. He looked.. Disinterested. 

Dream whispered something to Techno, who grimaced. Tommy wished he wasn’t about to say what he thought he was going to.

“Tommy. Dream has your discs.” Techno sighed, “He’s going to take them to the mainland and trade them away.”

“No.. No!” Tommy shouted, “Dream, you bastard! I trusted you! I thought of you like a friend!”

“Don’t get me wrong, Tommy. You’re still a friend to me.” Dream assured, “So are you, Wilbur, and also you, Phil.” He looked to their faces in the crowd.

“But.. Sometimes, pigs need to get slaughtered.” When the sword moved, everyone in the room had their screams and shouts die in their throats. 

All Dream did, though, was cut Techno’s long, pink hair.

The crazed man wheezed, before bringing the sword back to the king’s neck. “I got you! I got you all so good!” He laughed, like this was some sort of casual prank he pulled on his friends. 

A guard hesitantly approached from the crowd, and Dream froze when he saw it was George.

“..Dream, here’s your mask.” He hesitantly said in the dead silent room. The mask was split in half, Dream noticed. That was convenient. 

“Drop your weapons and come hand it to me.” Dream ordered, tensing up and accidentally pressing the sword to Techno’s throat again. The king made a strangled noise and coughed, making Phil visibly tense. Tommy looked about to try and go run at Dream, but Wilbur caught Tommy’s arm.

George disarmed himself, holding his hands up with the mask in his right hand. He carefully and cautiously approached Dream, who studied his every step. He frowned while handing Dream the mask, glancing down at Techno.

George scurried back to the crowd, honestly pretty scared that he’d be next. Dream cleared his throat.

“Your ‘Blood God’ is on his knees and defenseless. Now, look to him, then look at me. Who is the stronger one here?” Dream grinned, then pulled out a thing of tape he probably grabbed earlier. He had trouble taping the mask with one hand, but he managed. It was kind of embarrassing, really.  
Dream slipped the mask on, a crude smile now facing the crowd. “Long live the Blood God!” 

Everything was in slow motion as Dream slashed the sword across Techno’s neck. Tommy screamed, “No!” Reaching out to try and stop it, though he knew it was too late.

As Techno’s lifeless body hit the floor, he erupted in yellow and green particles. Dream backed up, sword in front of him in defense. It was obvious the man didn’t know what was going on.

Truth be told, no one else knew what was going on either. Technoblade rose from the ground, now facing Dream again. 

The king grinned at Dream, even though he was still defenseless. “Haven’t you heard the phrase, ‘Technoblade never dies’?” With that, Techno moved too quick for Dream to react in time. He was punched in the jaw, the force knocking him off his feet. His sword clattered out of his hands.

The guards quickly rushed forward to aid Techno, but Dream took off. He had staggered to his feet in what seemed like a millisecond. Techno didn’t follow, but the guards did.

Making his way through hallways and rooms, he eventually found himself cornered on a second floor balcony. Dream’s eyes darted back and forth, studying the guards who were cautiously approaching the man. 

With a gulp, Dream leaped off of the balcony into a pond below.

His body hit the freezing water, knocking the air out of him. Dream couldn’t let himself waste time, though, as he started swimming to the edge as quick as possible. He hauled himself out of the pond, and darted into the dark forest behind the castle.

Dream heard shouting behind him, but refused to look back, running as far as his feet would take him. He scanned his surroundings, looking for anything that could aid him, but found nothing. The trees were tall with no branches for him to reach and climb up to. Dream cursed himself for running into a spread out forest.

The darkness that came with night did help, though, as Dream ran and ran. His only thoughts were getting away from the guards- He knew he wasn’t meant to die tonight. 

Eventually, he found a tree with a branch he could reach. Dream quickly climbed to it, and then made his way up.

From down below, Dream saw the guards run past his tree, not thinking to look up. Sighing in relief, he slumped against the trunk. Now, he had time to assess his situation.

Obviously, his original plan didn’t work. Technoblade had magically come back to life with.. A totem of undying? Dream remembered hearing of those in a town newspaper; That they had found them in ancient and ruined villages. Though, he had only assumed that was some rumor.

Though, Dream supposed that didn’t matter now. Techno probably didn’t have more than one, so Dream could go back in and finish what he started. However, what were the chances he’d beat him twice in a row?

Dream hit his head against the tree behind him, sighing in frustration. His best bet was to start running to the mainland and get on a boat as soon as possible- Before word got to the harbor of his assassination attempt.

Looking down, Dream deemed it safe to climb out of the tree and start travelling. Night wouldn’t last forever, and he had to make the most of it.

With that, he started making his way out of the forest and away from the castle.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This took a while because I was putting it off.

Dream sighed; His feet were sore. He hadn’t come up upon a town yet, so that was fueling his sour mood. 

Maybe he shouldn’t have tried to assissinate the king. 

No, no, that was a crazy thought. Dream never let himself feel regret before- Why should he start now? And especially over someone who got on his nerves a little too much. 

Dream had to admit, he lost his temper a little. Well, more than a little, he got annoyed at the king whose very existence said, “I’m stronger than you.”

It irked him. Dream had a bitter taste in his mouth- Technoblade didn’t deserve that crown. Flaunting his power by just.. Walking around. Existing. Breathing. 

Sighing, the masked man ran his hand through his hair. He needed to get serious. Dream frowned, realizing he didn’t know where he was going OR where the harbor was. 

Well, at least he had his mask back, even if there was a huge crack down the middle. And at least he had the discs. Dream felt confidence gather in his veins again; He was going to find a map, maybe steal it, and go to the mainland. 

Dream was walking for another hour or two, but there was a bounce in his step. A village appeared in the distance, and Dream swore the smile on his face matched the one on his mask.

He was about to just barge into the sweet, little town before he mentally smacked himself in the face. What if word had spread to this town already? Dream didn’t know how close the village was to the palace or the capital. 

So, his step became cautious. Dream blended in with the crowds of people walking the streets and doing their daily errands. His eyes scanned the signs hanging off of doors, and finally he found one that said “Bar.”

Dream mentally hyped himself up- Just in case there were law enforcers ready to take him away. But he had a question for the bartender.

See, bartenders usually know everything about everyone. Especially in a town as small as the one Dream was in. 

He avoided eye contact with anyone and everyone as he walked in and took a seat at the bar. The stool was comfortable, surprisingly. Not anything like the wooden stools Dream had in the other towns he lived in.

From the corner of his eye, Dream could see the bartender studying him. Because bartenders often knew anyone, they knew who didn’t belong very easily.

“What will it be?” The man finally walked over to Dream. He was wearing a blue beanie; Some dark hair was spilling out from under it, though.

“Oh, I’m actually here to ask a question.” Dream gave a nervous smile, then forgot the man couldn’t see that.

“You aren’t from here, but go ahead and ask anyway.” The bartender picked up some empty glasses from next to Dream. Most definitely from another customer.

“Do you have.. A mapmaker in this town?” Dream saw the man tense up. The bartender narrowed his eyes.

“Who told you about Fundy?” He leaned over, voice in a whisper. “I don’t know who you are, or where you’re from, but if you’re here to take MY friend back to-”

Dream shook his hands, “No! No, no. I’m a traveller. I got lost here, and I need a map to see where I am.”

It was obvious the bartender didn’t believe him, judging by the sour look still on the man’s face. “You know, it’s hard to tell if you’re lying or not with that mask. Reminds me of Technoblade.” He shuddered.

“Do you.. Have bad memories with the king?” Dream hesitantly asked, not knowing if he was crossing boundaries.

“A couple years ago, I opened this bar. I wasn’t old enough to legally drink, so that got me in trouble with the law.” The man informed, cleaning out some beer mugs.

“..Oh.”

“I like you, you seem like a good guy. Listen, if you tell me your name and have some drinks with me after I close, I’ll take you to Fundy.”

“Okay.” Dream agreed to, though he suspected the bartender only wanted to know if he was dangerous or not. The man seemed really concerned about whoever wanted to take Fundy back to somewhere.

“Go ahead, what’s your name? Hell, even a nickname.” Quackity leaned on the bar.

“My name’s Dream.”

Quackity’s eyes widened, “Wait.. You’re THE Dream?”

Fuck. The town had heard of what he attempted, after all. Dream wanted to run, but his body was frozen to the stool.

“..Uh, yeah.” He managed, starting to get up. Dream was surprised when the bartender started grinning.

“We should be butcher bros.”

“What?” Dream’s confusion got a laugh out of the man.

“Butcher bros! We’ve both attempted to kill that pig before!” The bartender kept his voice low, but the excitement and admiration was clear in his tone.

“..What? Really?” Dream sat back down, “How’d you do that?”

“Easy. Took an axe.. Well, I didn’t get to use it. The guy picked up a pickaxe and shoved it in my mouth. I was so scared I was going to lose my teeth.” The bartender admitted, but he talked about it like a fond memory. There was a nostalgic smile on the man’s face.  
“What’s your name?” Dream hesitantly asked, but deep down he thought he already knew that name. The guy who was in the newspaper a long while ago, “Mainlander comes to spill the blood of an innocent royal guard.”

“I’m Quackity.”

“You’re.. That guy.”

“Yeah, of course, I’m that guy.” Quackity laughed, “I literally just told you my name and how I tried to kill the king. Well, not at the time, but.. You know.”

“How’d you end up getting away?”

“Well, Technoblade doesn’t hold grudges. Unless, of course, you hurt someone close to him.”

Dream gulped, and Quackity’s eyes widened.

“What the hell did you do?” Quackity demanded, now having a serious tone.

“His little brother thought of me as a friend, so I was invited to the palace.” Dream fiddled with his hands idly.

“The rumors said you were invited as a criminal.”

“No, no. I was Tommy’s best friend. And then.. I stole what his possibly dead friend gave him.”

“Dude, that’s fucked up.” Quackity crossed his arms, “Why?”

“I got into an argument with Techno. I wanted to prove I could make a decision where I thought of the consequences.” Dream rambled, a little embarrassed.

“You should’ve stolen something of the king’s. At least then, you’d get jail time and not killed.” Quackity sighed. “You’re in deep shit, aren’t you?”

“I haven’t seen any royal guards, yet. I escaped last night, but..”

“We’re a small town close to the capital. You need to get to Fundy, and leave.” The bartender demanded, “There’s going to be guards searching here tomorrow. I’m sure of it.”

“I haven’t been able to get a break from walking. I haven’t checked for any injuries yet.” Dream frowned from behind his mask.

“Then do that! I have a back room with a mirror. Well, my bedroom has a mirror. Go check yourself out in there.”

“Why are you giving me advice?”

“We both dislike Technoblade.” Quackity shrugged, then walked over to where a customer was sitting, waiting for a drink.

Dream sighed, getting up and going through a door behind the bar. He looked to Quackity to make sure it was the right door, and the man nodded at him.

Walking through, he found himself in a small bedroom that was more compact than pretty. A mirror was in the corner, so Dream took off his cloak and shirt to check for any injuries. He frowned when he noticed blood stains on the undershirt. He faced his back to the mirror, looking over his shoulder.

His eyes widened- There were gashes and bruises all over his back. Some wounds still looked like they were bleeding, but most were dried already. He sighed, putting back on the shirt. Dream would have to ask for bandages.

He next checked his legs, and was not surprised to find tiny scratches- None of which were bleeding, luckily. 

After fixing his pants, Dream went back out to go ask Quackity for bandages. And help to bandage him. Dream sighed, that fight with Technoblade before the guards came really injured him.

“Hey, can you help bandage me? My back is not in very good shape.” He tapped the bartender’s shoulder.

“Okay. After this next guy, I’ll close up early. Then I’ll bandage you and take you to Fundy.” The man promised, “You go wait back there- The bandages are in the second drawer of the nightstand.”

Dream just nodded, before going back to the backroom. He didn’t know why Quackity was actually helping him- Maybe it was because they both disliked Techno. But Dream doubted that, Quackity seemed smarter and seemed like he had more reasons than that.

Sighing, he decided not to question it. Excessive questions could cause annoyance, and then Quackity could get fed up to the point of not helping him.

Dream took the bandages out of the second drawer, but saw some letters underneath. The paper was yellowing, meaning they had to be years old at least. Looking to the door, he bit his lip nervously before picking one up.

“Dear Schlatt,” The letter read. 

“They’re coming. They’re rioting in the streets, no doubt trying to find me or Tubbo.”

Dream furrowed his eyebrows, confused. Tubbo? Tubbo as in.. Tommy’s friend?

“You’ll probably never receive this letter. You damn alcoholic tyrant.” Dream could practically hear the words in Quackity’s voice.

“Come fix this mess. I don’t deserve to go down with you. You’re probably dead by now, but damn it. After the countless executions, I stopped having faith in you as a leader. You’re a dictator. Rot in hell.

Sincerely,   
Quackity.”

Dream jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Quackity’s stone cold gaze.

“Those are bad memories of mine. Could you put the letter back, please?” Quackity’s tone made the question into a demand. Dream nodded, awkwardly putting the letter back in the drawer and shutting it.

“Um.. Tommy wanted me to find Tubbo.” Dream coughed into his hand. Quackity’s eyes widened.

“What? How does that kid know about Tubbo?”

“4 years ago, when I helped Tommy and Wilbur escape Floridis, Tommy made me promise to find Tubbo. Tubbo’s Tommy’s best friend. I was sent to the castle as a replacement for him to make Tommy feel better.”

“..I thought Tubbo was dead.” Quackity admitted, shoulders slumping, “When I took that ship to the mainland, Tubbo and I were separated. The port was on fire, and he didn’t get on the boat in time.”

“I don’t know if he’s alive now.” Dream shook his head, “Tommy last saw him 5 years ago. So it’s..”

“I know. It’s unlikely that he’s still alive.” Quackity finished Dream’s sentence, looking away.

“What was Tubbo like?” Dream whispered, not knowing if he was pushing boundaries. He didn’t know all that much about Tubbo. He knew of the kid’s appearance from Tommy, and knew he must’ve been a really good friend.

“Oh, he was a real shy, nervous kid. Always fidgety with Schlatt around.” Quackity forced out a laugh, “But he was.. Kind of weird. He was super funny.”

“What was Schlatt like? This is the first time I’ve heard of his name.” Dream questioned further, needing information about the previous mainland.

“Horrible man. He didn’t know how to swim. One time, in knee high water, he almost drowned.” Quackity rolled his eyes.

“Oh my god, what?” 

“Come on, let’s talk while I bandage your back.” Quackity then continued his tale, “Schlatt was super heavy. I couldn’t get him to stand up. Fucking annoying, man.”

Dream took off his shirt, “I imagine. What kind of idiot drowns in knee high water?”

“Schlatt. He was an alcoholic idiot. By the way, I’ll have to disinfect your back. Your shirt’s bloody.”

“How are you gonna do that?”

“Well, luckily, as a bartender, I have rum.”

“Wait, but rum’s for drinking.” Dream looked back at Quackity, confused look under his mask.

“Yeah, but it makes sure you don’t get infections. When you’re running for your life, you’ll get infections if you don’t treat your wounds.”

“..Good point.” Dream never thought about how if he got hurt, that was gonna be kind of a problem. He didn’t want to ask Quackity for supplies, that’d be rude.

Dream’s thoughts were cut off as he yelped. His back was burning, “Ow, ow, ow! What the hell?” He whipped around.

“I was using the rum.” Quackity laughed a little.

“But that hurt. The fuck?”   
“Yeah, it burns. That’s why I told you I’d be disinfecting it beforehand.”

“This hurts worse than when I actually got these gashes.” Dream scoffed. 

“It’s better than dying.” Quackity pointed out, and Dream had to admit, the man had a point.

“Anyway, more about Schlatt. I’m going to be going to the mainland so.. What was the previous mainland like?”

“Executions. Schlatt held public executions for anyone he felt like.” Quackity’s gaze was far away.

“..How’d you let him get away with that?” Dream spoke without meaning to. He covered his mouth, but ended up hitting himself in the mask. “Sorry.” 

“I was a different person back then. He tried killing Tubbo, and I encouraged him.” Quackity sighed, “But I’ve changed. I don’t think I would’ve changed if Tubbo didn’t have that totem of undying.”

“..You know, when I slit Technoblade’s throat, he had a totem of undying.” Dream brought up, trying to get off the uncomfortable topic. Quackity obviously felt guilty.

“Whaaat? Really? Damn, he’s invincible then.” Quackity sighed, “I bet he’s got one on him at all times after what happened with you.”

“..yeah, probably.” Dream nodded, “Security’s probably upped too. I doubt Techno’s gonna be able to go walk anywhere without guards now.”

“How embarrassing. That must be a blow to his ego.” Laughing a little, the bartender started to wrap up the masked man’s back.

“How so?” Dream frowned, looking back at the bartender.

“He probably believes he can defend himself. Always. So if he needs to be protected by others.. That’s gotta hurt.”

Dream grinned, and his smug face was evident in his tone, “I got him knocked down a few pegs.”

“Congrats, you’re probably in severe danger.” Quackity’s tone got serious, “He’s probably offended. Like, really offended.”

The masked man’s smile disappeared, “Yeah, probably. Well, at least I got under his skin. It pissed me off when he refused to get pissed.”

“I know, right? He always seems so mildly annoyed.” Quackity sighed dramatically, “It’s actually fucking annoying.”

Quackity finished bandaging Dream in almost no time. Dream slipped his shirt back on, before the bartender stopped him.

“I’ll let you have one of my shirts. Hopefully it won’t be too small? I mean, I just don’t want you having a bloody shirt.”

“..Okay.” Dream was content with that. He didn’t wanna continue wearing a bloody shirt either, but he couldn’t really be picky in his situation.

Quackity stood up, going over to a small wardrobe, where he pulled out a shirt that was too big for himself, but looked like it might fit Dream.

Dream took it from Quackity hesitantly, “Are you sure I can have this?”

“Yeah, dude. I’m pretty sure I stopped growing anyway.” 

With that, Dream slipped the shirt on. It was a nice blue color with long sleeves. The material was thin, though, so Dream would of course have to wear his green cloak over it.

“Thank you so much for helping me.” Dream hoped the grateful smile was evident in his tone.

“No problem. Now, let’s get you to Fundy before it becomes dark.” Quackity gestured for Dream to follow him.

“Wait, earlier you were scared that I was going to take Fundy away somewhere.” Dream brought up, too curious for his own good.

Quackity sighed, “He’s Wilbur Soot’s nephew. I was scared you were going to get Fundy back to that man.”

“What’s wrong with Wilbur?”

Quackity turned to him, blinking slowly. “What’s wrong with Wilbur? What? You literally spent a day or two at the palace!”

“He seemed like the nicest one there.”

“The most mentally deranged, you mean.” Quackity scoffed, “He stole his dead mother’s ring, for god’s sake!”

Dream froze, “What..?”

“..You didn’t know? Wilbur’s the king of this country.”

“..No, Techno is. Wilbur was the criminal Techno spared.”

“Wilbur became a criminal because he ran from home. He stole his dead mother’s ring. It was fucked up.” 

“That puts a different spin on all I knew about him.” Dream was kind of surprised, but kind of not. Wilbur knew magic, for god’s sake. And he was pretty sure that was illegal to learn. 

“He’s not a good person. He’ll use people for his own benefit.” Quackity left the bar, locking the doors after Dream stepped outside. 

“Please, give me an example.”

“When Fundy’s mother, Sally, disappeared, Wilbur promised him that he’d build a new nation. One where mothers didn’t leave their sons.”

“How is that using Fundy?”

“Wilbur wanted Fundy backing him for a coup. He was only promising that to get Fundy on his side.”

“Holy shit.” Dream’s eyes were wide.

“He also threatened to rig the palace with explosives, once. I only have Fundy’s word for that, though.”

Dream started laughing, which made Quackity visibly uneasy. “When I first heard of Soot, I instantly thought of him as a role model. He’s more alike to me than I realized.”

“You’re not like him. You seem sane.” Quackity shook his head, “You’re just someone who hates Technoblade, just like me. You’re more like me.”

“If you say so.” Dream decided not to continue the topic. He did have an amused smile on his face, though. Luckily, his mask hid that.

They came upon a house that blended in with the buildings next to it. It wasn’t special, so people would generally have no reason to go to it. Quackity walked up the steps, then knocked at the door.

“Who is it?” A Dutch accent spoke from behind the door.

“Your favorite bartender. Now let me in, furry.”

Dream’s breath caught in his throat when a person with fox ears answered the door. The man was smiling at Quackity, mock annoyance on his face.

The fox man looked over to Dream, and studied his lack of face.

“Fundy, this is Dream. Dream, this is Fundy.”

“Pleasure to meet you, I guess.” Dream hand out his hand to Fundy. 

“Come inside, come inside.” Fundy urged the two. Dream couldn’t help but frown a little to himself when he just had to awkwardly put his hand in his pocket.

“So.. Dream here needs a map made.” Quackity broke the awkward silence as they stood in the living room.

Fundy started asking questions to Dream about the map, but the words went in one ear and out the other. Dream was fascinated by Fundy’s ears.. Did he just see them twitch a little? Before he knew it, he reached out and touched one.

The Dutchman froze, “What are you doing?”

Dream quickly retracted his hand, “Sorry, sorry! I.. I wanted to see if they were real.”

Now Fundy seemed offended, “Why wouldn’t they be real? You think I’m basically a furry by choice?!”

Quackity started laughing from beside him.

“No, no, sorry again. I just.. I don’t know. I’m sorry.” Dream shook his head, waving his hands in front of him.

“Anyway,” Quackity changed the subject, because Fundy looked about to throw hands. “Fundy asked what is your path to?”

“Um, my path’s to the harbor. Like, the closest port.” Dream looked Fundy in the eyes.

“Okay. So, from here to there? Are you going to be making any detours?”

“No, I need to get there as soon as possible.” 

“What’s the rush?”

Before Dream could say anything, Quackity butt in, “He’s the guy who tried assassinating Technoblade.”

“Oh, really? That’s cool.” Fundy actually smiled. Dream was about to faint- How could they take this news so well?

“Yeah, apparently the pig didn’t actually die because he had a totem on him.”

“Ah, that sucks. Well, I guess his famous saying is true then.” Fundy was going through a bookshelf filled with presumably maps.

“..You have a nice home.” Dream commented, looking around.

“Thank you.”

The Dutchman pulled out a map, then handed it to Dream, “Think you can read this?”

Dream’s eyes widened, “This.. This is detailed.” It was true; The map was detailed to the point it was scary. Though, the cities were jumbled together, and it was hard to tell what direction everything was.

Fundy laughed, “Detailed maps are my specialty. Though, if you want one made that’s directly the line to the port, I’ll draw you one.”

“That’d be super helpful, I’d appreciate that.” Dream awkwardly handed the map back. The map was a little too complicated for someone who didn’t know the area too well.

“Ah, alright. I'll get started right away." Fundy smiled at Dream.

“Well, I’m going home to go to bed. You two can sort things out.” Quackity spun on his heel before the two men could say anything.

“Wait-” And then the door shut.

The fox hybrid awkwardly coughed into his hand- Paw? Hand? Whatever. Dream had never met a fox-man before, so why would he need to know the terminology?

“I can get you a blanket.”

“Huh?” The masked man questioned. Hearing the other man’s voice had brought him a little too suddenly out of his thoughts.

“If you want, you can sleep on the couch.” Fundy offered, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away. 

“Thank you. You and Quackity are really good people.”

“Thanks, though I think your judgement’s a little off.”

“My judgement is my truth.” Dream shrugged, then went over and sat on the couch. Fundy pulled out a blanket from the closet. “How I perceive things is how they are.”

“What a way to live.” The mapmaker mused, “I wish I could be like that. But you know, I draw maps. And that could be bad for my career.”

“I suppose so.” Dream gently took the wooly blanket from Fundy’s arms, muttering a “Thanks.” He didn’t understand why people were so nice to him at random times. Maybe it was because they weren’t scared of him.

Dream was starting to believe himself approachable. He had the charisma to be friendly enough, and he was good looking. Though, the masked man supposed that was his ego talking. 

“Goodnight, I guess.” The masked man laid down on the couch.

“Don’t you want to take off your mask? I mean, isn’t it uncomfortable, it looks taped up-”

“No. I’m sleeping with it on.” Dream didn’t mean for that to sound as harsh as it did. He noticed the Dutchman back up a little, putting his hands up in defense.

“Okay, that’s fine.” It was obvious the fox was uneasy about the stranger in his house.

Dream didn’t say anything else, as he watched Fundy walk over to a desk next to the bookshelf. He pulled out several maps, then dipped a quill into some ink.

It was amazing how someone could just.. Draw a map. By themselves. “..Did you travel a lot?”

Fundy turned his head to look at the masked man, “Yes, yes I did. I travelled all over the country, but I would make maps. Even if they were highly inaccurate, I went to other mapmakers to correct them.”

“That explains why you’re so good at it, then.” Dream mumbled, looking up at the ceiling. 

“I even went to the mainland for a little.” The Dutchman had turned back around in his seat, getting back to work drawing out a simple map. He was looking back and forth from different maps to make sure he was as accurate as possible.

“What was it like?”

“I was a beloved citizen of a man named Schlatt.”

“Really?” Dream looked back to Fundy, but only saw the back of the mapmaker’s head.

“Yes. He wanted me close to him, because I was a part of the royal family.”

“When did you run away, exactly?” The masked man didn’t even think how it was an insensitive question.

“7 years ago. I'm guessing Quackity told you about me.” Fundy didn’t turn around, but Dream noticed how he held the quill a little tighter.

“I’ve met Wilbur, hell, I even talked to him all night once. He seemed mentally stable.” Dream sat up; He needed to find out why Fundy and Quackity hated the musician so much. 

“You don’t know anything.” Fundy stopped his work, but Dream persisted, standing up.

“He was the most sane there, I’m pretty sure he changed in the years-”

The mapmaker had turned around and thrown the ink at Dream. He only stood there, face as blank as his mask. 

“Get out.” Fundy’s chest was heaving wildly, “Get out!”

Dream stared for a little, before he went to the door and calmly left the mapmaker’s house. When he turned to close the door behind him, he saw Fundy crumpled on the ground, sobbing.

He screwed up, didn’t he? Dream sighed. His curiosity led him to push all the wrong buttons. God damnit.

Now, what was he supposed to do? Sleep outside in an ink covered hoodie, in the cold?

Dream decided to go back to Quackity’s bar. See if the man was awake. He couldn’t help but think about how he could’ve stopped the topic, or phrased certain things differently. He eventually came across the bar doors, and shook away his thoughts.

“Quackity!” He shouted, knocking on the doors, “I got kicked out!”

A very disheveled bartender came to the door. Quackity didn’t look happy.

“Do you have any idea what time it is?” Quackity hissed, eyes slightly narrowed. The man didn’t even have shoes on.

“Uh, no, sorry.” Dream rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Why did you come here- Holy shit, you have ink all over you.” Quackity’s surprise shook off his tiredness.

“I got thrown out.” Dream admitted, looking down at his feet. He could sense the man frowning at him.

Quackity sighed, “Get in here, then.”

Dream shuffled into the bar, and noticed how dark it was without the lights on. His eyes had to adjust- The streetlights weren’t bright outside, but definitely brighter than this.

“You know, it’s kind of weird how small of a world we live in.” Dream absentmindedly commented, “You mainlanders, how I ended up meeting the King..”

“Yeah.” Quackity offered a smile, “Trouble seems to find each other, though.” 

“I don’t get it.” Dream frowned at Quackity, turning to him.

“Get what? My statement? I was calling you trouble, because I am also troubl-”

“Not that.” Dream waved his hand to stop Quackity. “The fact everyone’s being so nice to me.”

“You’re going to be a mainlander soon. Us mainlanders stick out for each other.” The bartender clapped him on the shoulder, still offering that annoyingly bright smile.

“I won’t see you again, after tomorrow.” Dream brought up, shrugging Quackity’s hand off of him.

“So? Does it ever hurt to help someone on the run?”

Dream frowned. Frowned harder and harder until tears started falling from his mask. Quackity jumped back a little when he noticed the droplets falling to the floor.

“Uh, are you alright, Dream?”

The masked man shook his head, “You’ve just given me a question and an answer.”

“Huh? An answer to what?”

“I helped Tommy and Wilbur 4 years ago. I’ve been asking myself why I did it.”

“Wait, but how was that also a question?”

When Dream lifted up his mask a little to wipe at his nose, Quackity could see the sad smile.

“I don’t know if it hurt.”

Somehow, the bartender could understand a full essay behind those words. Had the blow reached Dream, or would it never come? Worse, would the blow hit with the force of a thousand fists?

Quackity moved too quick for the masked man to react. Pulling Dream into a hug, he whispered, “I hope I’ve softened it a little.”

Dream clutched at the man’s back, “You have.” His words wobbled, “You have. You’ve helped me.”

The two friends stayed like that for a moment. All Dream knew is that he reduced the blow by at least a hundred punches.

Eventually, Dream pulled away. “Can I pay you to make me a drink? I think I need to calm down a little.”

Quackity smiled at him, “Nah, it’s on the house.”

With that, the lights were on again and the bartender was working. Dream had asked for the strongest drink; Just to get rid of the embarrassment he felt for crying like that. In front of a complete stranger, too!

“Alright, here you go.” The man set a mug in front of Dream. The masked man studied it, lifting it up and even smelling it.

Quackity stifled a laugh when Dream reeled away from the drink, “It’s not supposed to smell good, you know?”

“I know, I know.” Judging by Dream’s tone, it was obvious the man was making a face. Carefully, he lifted up his mask to expose his mouth and the lowest part of his nose.

Quackity watched with curiosity as the masked man hesitantly took a swig.

But, was not surprised, when Dream spat it out. He coughed, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. Quackity burst into laughter that vaguely reminded Dream of a hyena.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. It burned.” Dream apologized, taking out his money and giving the bartender enough silver to pay for the drink.

Quackity denied it, “No, no, I said it was on the house. God, that was hilarious though.”

Dream just took another swig, but this time didn’t spit it all over the place. There was a frown, though, that Quackity noticed.

“..So, are you leaving tomorrow?”

“Probably. I don’t want you or Fundy getting in trouble for having contact with me.” Dream replied, a hint of sadness in his voice.

“I hope you have a good life.” Quackity tried cheering up the man with a wide smile. Dream looked away, though.

“I hope you do, too. You have a really good life here.”

“Yeah, I’m really lucky. Everyday I think about it.”

Dream faced Quackity all the sudden, “Please, tell me more about Schlatt.”

The bartender was taken off guard by the sudden request. But he straightened up, nodding. “I guess it won’t do you any harm to know what happened.”

The masked man leaned forward in the stool, waiting for Quackity to start talking.

“I was a government official. Normal senator, y’know?” 

“The mainland’s government sounds so different from the one here.”

“Yeah, yeah it really was.” Quackity nodded, a far away look in his eyes. “Took me a while to get used to it, here.”

Dream gestured for the man to continue, not really having a comment to add onto that.

“Anyway,” Quackity coughed, “I ran for president.”

The masked man was taken aback, reeling back, “What?”

“I know!” The bartender laughed, “I don’t seem like a leader, do I?”

“No, no, that’s not it. I’m surprised Schlatt let you work under him if you ran against him.”

“Oh, well. That’s the thing. I made a deal to combine votes with him, if he were to win. So, he spared me.” 

“..What happened to the other candidates?” Dream was honestly scared to ask, but he did anyway. 

Quackity’s gaze darkened, “They were banished.”

“Banished? What?” Dream’s voice got a little loud, but he brought it back down again.

“Yeah. They.. They got mad at one point.”

“Mad, how?”

“Revolution. They planned a coup against the government- And even though I was on their side, I still was driven out of my home.”

“I’ve never seen a revolution with my own two eyes before.”

“Well, you better hope that you never have to.”

Dream only nodded. God, he imagined the screams and the fire and the chaos- That’d be terrifying.

“I remember fleeing my house, running past the rioting mobs. I found Tubbo- And just.. Grabbed him. He tried shouting something about how he needed to grab his pet bees, but I kept running.”

“Was he mad at you?”

“After we got to the port, no. I got shoved and my hand let go of his- And before I knew it..” Quackity gulped, and Dream noticed the bartender was shaking slightly.

“You don’t have to continue if you don’t have to-”

“The port was set on fire. Someone dropped a lantern. I was shoved onto a ship, but Tubbo wasn’t there.”

The masked man didn’t know what to do when he saw tears fall from his friend’s eyes. Contemplating for a second, he reached over the bar and pulled Quackity into a hug.

“Oh my god, Dream.. I don’t think I can live with myself some days..” The bartender sobbed into Dream’s shoulder.

“Tubbo’s alive. I will bring him here.” That moment, the masked man realized how much of an empty promise that was. But it seemed to stop Quackity’s wailing by just a bit.

“Bring him to me. Please.” Quackity’s request sounded more like a demand. Dream nodded, rubbing the man’s back awkwardly. 

“If I find him on my path, I’ll turn around. I promise.” The masked man said before he could think. 

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“If I can’t find him, then I’ll have to continue going to the mainland. But I will try my hardest, I promise.”

“Swear it. Swear that you’ll try to find him. He was such a good kid, and I was so horrible to him- If I only held on a little tighter, then he would’ve been here.”

“It’s not your fault.”

Dream didn’t understand why those words had crocodile tears running down Quackity’s face. Those were supposed to calm the man down- Why did it make him sob harder than before?

“I.. I really needed to hear that.” There was a sad smile in the bartender’s tone.

“It’s been a long day. I’m sorry that I’ve brought up horrible memories.”

“No, no, I think bottling this up has caused more grief than before.”

“Do.. Do you wanna talk more about Tubbo and Schlatt then?”

Quackity pulled away, nodding and smiling, “I’ll tell you of the time Tubbo brought his bees to a meeting.”

~

The bartender told Dream many stories. Some had a bittersweet tone to them, but most were happy and cheerful. He didn’t miss how Quackity would scowl when saying Schlatt’s name.

Light was flooding in through the windows, but the masked man didn’t feel tired. It was obvious how sluggish Quackity was, though.

“I’m going to stay another day here.” Dream said out of the blue. He didn’t think he had the heart to leave the new friend he made just yet.

“Well, I have to run the bar today. After checking in with Fundy, want to help?”

“I don’t know alcoholic drinks at all.” Dream frowned, “It’d probably be a bad idea.”

“Then, I’ll just have you clean the glasses.”

“I can do that.” 

“Anyway, Fundy’s probably up by now. Come on, I’ll bring you to his house. Maybe you can apologize for whatever you did last night?”

"Yeah, I should do that."

"You know, Dream, you're a man of few words but you like to ask a lot of questions."

"Oh, am I?" Dream questioned. He had to admit, he's never thought of that before.

"Yeah. But, I guess, knowledge is power."

"Not really. Knowing everything can hurt sometimes."

"It's 50-50." Quackity gave a quick smile over his shoulder to Dream.

Eventually, the pair reached Fundy’s home once again. Quackity knocked on the door while Dream took a deep breath.

Fundy opened the door slightly, ears down and a scowl on his face. “What do you want?” He asked, looking at Dream.

“I’m sorry.”

Fundy sighed, looking away. "I finished your map." He held the map out.

“Thanks.” Dream took it from Fundy hesitantly.

“I’ll.. I’ll also give you money for a new hoodie.” 

Quackity piped up, “Damn, I forgot about the hoodie. The shirt under is probably stained, too.”

“How much do new clothes cost?” Dream titled his head, “If they’re expensive, I can just live with these.”

“I can get you a cloak for around 5 silver.” Fundy stepped outside, closing the door behind him.

“Are you going right now? Let me join you.” Dream offered, wanting to try to bond with Fundy.

“I have a bar to run, so you two have fun.” Quackity left again, without letting the two say goodbye.

“Wait-” Fundy reached out, but Quackity had already been lost in the busy, morning crowd.

“..Will you let me join you?” Dream shifted on his feet.

Fundy thought about it for a moment, before nodding. “I don’t see the harm in that.”

“I should buy supplies for my trip.” Dream thought outloud, “Do you know where I can do that?”

The Dutchman started walking, but nodded back at Dream, who scrambled to follow. “I’ll lead you to the cheap shops.”

The masked man walked alongside Fundy for a bit in silence, before the fox coughed.

“What are you thinking you need?”

“A bag. Some bandages, probably.” Dream shrugged, not really knowing.

“You should probably get a canteen.” 

“Good idea. Oh, and I should probably get food.”

“Dry goods, then. Unless you’re planning to stop at every town.” Fundy looked over his shoulder.

“No, I’m pretty sure the trip’ll take awhile. And everyone’s gonna know what happened in a few days.”

The two eventually came upon a bustling marketplace. Musicians and entertainers lined the edges of the streets, trying to earn a coin or two.

“Woah.” Dream looked around, “This is way bigger than any marketplace I’ve ever seen.”

Fundy nodded, obviously used to the marketplace, since he lived here. “Since we’re so close to the capital, we get merchants from all over.”

Several shopkeepers were shouting at people, things like ‘’Fresh oranges! Picked from” towns Dream had never heard of.

Fundy and Dream passed by many stalls, some of which caused the masked man to falter in his step. The shopkeepers had taken that stop to try and market their product to Dream. Then, Fundy would pull him away.

“Going for a hunting trip? Maybe moving? Have a look at my survival supplies!” A man shouted, trying to be louder than the salesmen near him.

Fundy stopped, and gestured for Dream to take a look.

The man had quieted so the two could look in silence. Fundy picked up a hunting knife, “How much?”

“3 silver. Though, if you buy this canteen off me, I’ll give you both for 4 silver.”

“Deal.” Fundy reached and got out his coinpurse. Dream stopped him.

“Hold on, why are you paying for it?” 

“I picked out your supplies for you. I’m paying for it.”

Dream frowned, getting out his own money. “Let’s just split it then.”

“Fine.” 

The two men handed the shopkeeper 2 silver each. The man handed the items over with a smile.  
“Wait, those bandages, how much are they?” Dream noticed, pointing at a back table.

“I’ll just give ‘em to you. No one’s buying them anyway.” The man handed the bandages over.

“Thank you, sir.” With that, Fundy and Dream left.

“Now, to find you a bag.” The fox kept his eye out for shops that had travel bags. Specifically, small travel bags.

“I see a shop.” Dream put his hand on Fundy’s arm, then pointed at the shop. The store in question had backpacks, coin purses, and small bags for sale.

“Those are leather. Must be high quality.” Fundy muttered as they approached. 

Dream studied the bags once they reached the shop. “I’ll take that one, please.” It was a leather satchel. Small enough to be light and run with, and big enough to put supplies in.

“2 gold.” The woman at the counter smiled brightly at them.

Fundy shook his head, “Did I hear you correctly?”

“Yes, you did, sir. 2 gold.”

Fundy scoffed, turning to look at Dream, “Let’s go buy somewhere else. This is a scam.”

“Oh? Okay.” Dream turned to leave, putting his money away.

The woman reached out, “Wait! No, no, I misspoke. It’s 20 silver.” 

Fundy gave Dream a sly grin before turning back to the woman. He pulled out his money, handing over 20 silver.

The shopkeeper handed over the satchel with a frown, grumbling under her breath.

The Dutchman turned back to Dream, and started to walk again with him.

“She never makes any sales.”

“I’m not surprised, it is a high price.”

“A high price for faux leather.” Fundy rolled his eyes.

“I couldn’t even tell.”

“Then you’ve never had a side by side comparison.” Fundy sighed, and Dream shook his head.

Dream started putting his supplies in the bag, then put it on. “More comfortable than I thought a satchel would be.”

“Think you could run with it?”

“Yeah, definitely.”

“Okay, then let’s go get you new clothes.” Fundy started walking towards a specific destination, probably having a store in mind.

“No, my clothes are fine.” Dream reached out and grabbed Fundy’s arm.

Fundy looked up at him, scoffing, “Have you seen yourself in a mirror?”

“..No, I haven’t.”

“Ink is not a good look on you.” Fundy turned back around, starting to walk again.

Dream chose to follow instead of arguing this time. He silently walked behind Fundy, looking around at stuff before they reached their stop.

“Dream, which one do you want?” Fundy tapped his shoulder, then gestured to a rack of cloaks. 

“Uh, the green one. It’ll help me blend in a little.” 

“We’ll take the green cloak, please.” Fundy told the shopkeeper, who traded it for a couple silver.

“How much was it?” Dream hadn’t heard the price, because it was fairly loud in this area of the market. 

“5 silver.” 

Dream took out his coins to pay Fundy back, but the fox held up a hand to stop him.

“No, don’t. I paid for it. That’s that.”

“I have money.” Dream frowned, “Stop.”

“You’ll want that money for the immigration fee.”

“There’s an immigration fee?”

“Of course there is!” Fundy laughed, “It’s about 50 silver.”

“..I have 65 silver.”

“Well, you can go buy yourself a room at an inn when you get there then.”

“Okay.”

Dream then frowned, remembering back to when he helped Tommy buy things. Did he also experience confusion and awkwardness for why a stranger was helping him? 

“Come on, I need to go pick up some ink. I kinda used my last on you.” Fundy rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Lead the way.”


End file.
